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From “No.1 x No.1” to Four Consecutive Years at No.1: SORTIE Agency Breaks the Mould of Traditional Medicated Oil Advertising, Reimagining a Classic with Fresh Visuals That Spark Online Conversation
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How can a household name in Hong Kong offer something fresh? Since its launch, the Wong To Yick Wood Lock Medicated Balm campaign featuring Joey Yung has sparked online discussion. Some viewers have likened its visual treatment to whisky advertising, while others have noted how naturally Joey’s style complements the brand. These responses reflect a key ambition behind the campaign: to challenge familiar perceptions of traditional medicated oil advertising and encourage consumers to see a well-known Hong Kong brand from a new perspective.
Over the past year, SORTIE Agency has continued working with Wong To Yick Wood Lock Medicated Balm, building the collaboration around the “No.1 × No.1” concept featuring its first-ever brand ambassador, Joey Yung. Through creative content, digital communications and advertising placements, we have helped the brand establish a more distinctive identity. This year, Wong To Yick Wood Lock Medicated Balm has extended its three-year run at the top to a fourth consecutive year, retaining its No.1 sales ranking in Hong Kong in both the Muscle Pain Reliever category ¹ and the Medicated Oil Segment ². This milestone also brings a new focus to the ongoing collaboration. Last year, we gave No.1 a fresh expression; this year, the market has once again reinforced its No.1 position.
From the Medicine Cabinet to the Dressing Table: Reinterpreting a Classic Medicated Oil
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Refreshing a brand can start with changing the settings where people see its products. For this campaign, we wanted Wong To Yick Wood Lock Medicated Balm to feel as naturally at home on a dressing table, in a handbag or in everyday living spaces as perfume and personal care products, inviting consumers to rediscover this familiar bottle of medicated oil.
We drew inspiration from the visual language of whisky advertising. Although the two belong to entirely different product categories, both are rooted in craftsmanship, history and brand trust built over time. The craftsmanship and heritage behind classic whiskies give them a presence that extends beyond the product itself. Similarly, Wong To Yick Wood Lock Medicated Balm’s years of product experience, commitment to quality and reputation among consumers provided the foundation for this new visual interpretation.
Through carefully considered lighting, composition and product close-ups, we sought to move beyond the conventions of traditional medicated oil advertising, using a different visual language to convey the quality and stature Wong To Yick Wood Lock Medicated Balm has built over the years. Paired with Joey Yung’s poised, confident presence, this approach reveals a different side of a familiar Hong Kong brand.
From the visual style to the ambassador’s performance, the online conversation has prompted consumers to take a fresh look at Wong To Yick Wood Lock Medicated Balm from different perspectives. This echoes SORTIE’s creative direction: preserving the values of a classic while finding new ways for the brand to become part of contemporary life.
“No.1 × No.1”: Giving a Classic Brand a New Expression
The natural fit between Joey Yung and Wong To Yick Wood Lock Medicated Balm is central to the collaboration. Joey combines maturity, confidence and approachability. She can embody a polished advertising image while retaining the authenticity familiar to Hong Kong audiences. These qualities resonate with Wong To Yick Wood Lock Medicated Balm’s identity as a brand with deep local roots that continues to move forward.
The strategic value of “No.1 × No.1” also lies in translating this compatibility into a clear brand association. Joey’s longstanding dedication to performing and her professional standards give a tangible human expression to “Growing Stronger Through Challenges, the Champion’s Choice”. Wong To Yick Wood Lock Medicated Balm’s commitment to quality and its market performance, in turn, provide support for that proposition at the brand level.
We want audiences to remember more than the ambassador’s style. We want them to remember the natural connection between her and the brand. When the ambassador’s character, creative direction and brand values work together, the collaboration creates a more cohesive impression, allowing the new brand image to connect naturally with the trust already established.
From Three Consecutive Years at No.1 to Four: Bringing Fresh Content to an Ongoing Campaign
From Three Consecutive Years at No.1 to Four: Bringing Fresh Content to an Ongoing Campaign
This year’s fourth consecutive No.1 ranking provides fresh market support for the brand’s No.1 positioning established over the past year. From a brand-building perspective, it is an opportunity to reinforce existing associations while introducing a new message.
SORTIE has made this fourth consecutive year at No.1 the focus of the latest campaign, integrating the sales achievement into the established ambassador image and creative direction. By maintaining a consistent brand language, each new advertisement builds on what consumers have already seen while reinforcing the brand's continued market leadership.
Sales leadership is built on product quality, consumer choice and the trust a brand earns over time. Our role is to turn that achievement into brand content that is easy to understand and worth paying attention to, making market recognition a strong foundation for ongoing communication.
From Television to the Streets of Hong Kong: Creating a Cohesive Brand Experience
This year, SORTIE has extended its four consecutive years at No.1 message across television advertising, digital content, MTR Hong Kong Station, Tsim Sha Tsui Station, the Tsim Sha Tsui waterfront, and bus and tram advertising. These different media touchpoints bring the same brand message into consumers’ everyday lives.
Each medium plays a different role. Digital content offers more room to explain the products, brand story and market achievements, while large-format outdoor advertising builds brand recall through more immediate visuals and messaging.
Hong Kong Station connects the central business district with the wider transport network. Tsim Sha Tsui Station and the Tsim Sha Tsui waterfront connect with shopping, tourism and local life, while buses and trams carry the message into different neighbourhoods and along everyday routes across the city. Our aim is more than increasing the number of advertising placements. It is to bring one core message naturally into different everyday settings: Wong To Yick Wood Lock Medicated Balm, No.1 in Hong Kong sales for the fourth consecutive year.¹ ²
From television and mobile screens to MTR stations, the waterfront and city streets, these touchpoints all serve the same brand direction, turning “four consecutive years at No.1” from a market statistic into a brand message consumers can see and remember.
From a Single Campaign to Ongoing Brand Building
Last year, “No.1 × No.1” established a new way for the brand to express itself. This year, a fourth consecutive No.1 ranking adds fresh market evidence to that story. The collaboration has shown us how a classic brand’s history and familiarity can themselves provide a foundation for creativity. With the right ambassador, a distinctive creative and visual direction, and coordinated media placements, a brand can retain the trust it has earned while inviting new perspectives and conversation.
From viewers’ comparisons with whisky advertising to discussions about Joey Yung’s compatibility with the brand, and now the latest campaign celebrating four consecutive years at No.1, SORTIE continues to translate Wong To Yick Wood Lock Medicated Balm’s existing brand strengths into fresh content and new ways of communicating.
We believe refreshing a classic brand means preserving its established values and trust while bringing together today’s creativity, content and media, allowing those enduring values to be seen in an entirely new way.
¹ Based on NielsenIQ retail measurement data for Hong Kong’s Muscle Pain Reliever category, February 2022–January 2026, covering Sales Value (HK$) and Sales Volume (KG/LITRE).
² Based on NielsenIQ retail measurement data for the Oil segment of Hong Kong’s Muscle Pain Reliever category, February 2022–January 2026, covering Sales Value (HK$) and Sales Volume (KG/LITRE).
Copyright © 2026 Nielsen Consumer LLC.
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