Fireplaces, blankets, candles and hot drinks are a familiar repertoire in heating advertising. That very familiarity was the problem F5 Shanghai needed to solve for Midea: how do you talk about warmth in Nordic markets while offering something audiences have not already seen many times before? The agency found its answer in the message the brand already uses, Share the Warmth, taking the idea of sharing warmth quite literally.
For the Heatball Fight campaign, a glowing ball was created to represent the warmth generated by heating products. Family members can hold it, pass it to one another and use it for a snowball-style fight around the house. This gave the product’s functional benefit a visible form and a role in the ad’s storyline, while giving the brand a motif that connects several of its products.
Jimyi Xu, Global Marketing Director of F5 Shanghai, explains that, while developing the idea, the team reconsidered the conventional portrayal of warmth as an atmosphere. Rather than another depiction of a cozy home, they sought a way for warmth to set a shared activity in motion. In Denmark, Finland, Sweden, Norway and Iceland, where comfort and family gatherings are already an important part of everyday life, this approach was intended to offer a more concrete reason for an emotional connection with the brand.
The ad draws on the tradition of Nordic fairy tales, but the family’s reactions remain restrained. No one interrupts the game to marvel at what is happening. This relationship between fantastical scenes and the characters’ natural behavior was an important part of the creative approach taken by Adams Fan, Chief Creative Officer of F5 Shanghai. “The challenge was creating something magical while keeping the family completely authentic. The fantasy works because the emotions remain real, the relationship between the family members is always at the center,” he said.
For Renee Huang, European Marketing Director at Midea Residential Air Conditioning, the campaign’s aim was to connect the message Share the Warmth with experiences that feel familiar to Nordic families and that they will remember. The products therefore help set the game in motion, taking their role in the ad beyond a depiction of a heated space.
The ad premiered at IFA Berlin 2026 as part of the brand’s global communication. It was directed by Kevork Aslanyan and produced by SHANSHI.
Credits:
Brand: Midea
Campaign Title: Heatball Fight
Market: Nordic markets
Creative Agency: F5 Shanghai
Production Company: SHANSHI
Director: Kevork Aslanyan
Editing: Lyubo Kirov
Music: Simon Lundsgaard
Sound Design: John Green
Color Grading: Viktor Malygin
