Why does a variety show themed around stationery sales make young people unable to stop watching it?
Who does not have M&G Stationery in their youthful memories?
Written by | J
Cover source | M&G
Who could have imagined that in 2026, a variety show centered on stationery sales would emerge as a popular "digital snack" for audiences.
Variety shows where celebrities run restaurants, manage homestays, or travel with children are familiar to all. But a group of artists driving a stationery van around the streets, figuring out how to sell pens while chatting with passers-by, writing letters, playing games, and even setting up stationery stalls on campus... This unconventional and one-of-a-kind approach has become its memorable highlight among numerous variety shows.
Yet surprisingly, this slow-paced variety show that does not rely on grand scenes or intense conflicts has hooked many young viewers. Some follow updates to watch the artists busily running their business, some burst into nonstop laughter at unexpected iconic moments, and others even list it as their regular "meal companion program".
What kind of magic does a "stationery-selling" variety show possess that makes young people more and more obsessed with it?
A stationery van that holds the worries of young people
"Universe Helpers", China's first reality variety show focused on stationery operation, sponsored by M&G Stationery and originally created by Shenzhen TV, has indeed opened a new chapter for slow-paced variety shows.
A movable and transformable stationery van, 6 artist guests Ding Zhen, Jing Long, Li Yitong, Sun Xizhi, Yu Yuhan, Zhang Yanqi (sorted by the first letter of their surnames) form the "Universe Help Group". They truly act as "stationery store managers", setting up mobile M&G stalls in the arcade blocks of Shantou Little Park, the coastal community of Shenzhen Xiaomeisha, and beside the playground of Zhuhai Hope Star Experimental School. While running their business, in the space extended from the stationery van, they listen to the worries of passing students and pedestrians.
As soon as the program aired, various iconic scenes continuously rushed to the top of trending searches.
The Shantou stop perfectly coincided with two key points: one is the cultural tourism boom driven by Yingge Dance and overseas Chinese letter culture in recent years; the other is the place where M&G started its business more than 30 years ago, carrying the sentiment of tracing origins, and the little joys of the new semester set off from here.
At the Shenzhen stop, the Help Group launched an immersive sales mode. Faced with numerous challenges including opening assessment, sudden heavy rain, and language barriers, the gold salespeople tried their best, and guest Duan Aojuan also made a surprise appearance to offer support.
The Zhuhai stop even moved the stationery store and "Utopia Help" into the campus, filling the entire campus with youthful vibes through a shout-out ceremony and a super universe new semester party.
The reason why these clips quickly went viral is that the program itself has a genuine sense of "no pretension". The lively worldly atmosphere naturally emerges when the six young people seriously set up stalls, sell stationery, and chat with passers-by in the streets and alleys.
What truly builds deep connections between the program and young people is that the program has built a touching "Utopia Help" — a space that is willing to listen carefully to what young people have to say. Faced with anxiety about the upcoming new semester, exhaustion from doing exam exercises, or confusion about the future, passing students sit down here, pour out their hearts to the managers, and share the little happiness in their lives. This stationery van shuttling through urban streets and lanes has naturally become a "youth tree hole" that listens to the worries of young people.
From a data perspective, the report card handed over by "Universe Helpers" is also quite impressive. One month after its premiere, the total exposure of the program across the whole network exceeded 1.2 billion, total interactions exceeded 10 million, and there were more than 350,000 UGC contents across the whole network. The main topic on Weibo has exceeded 450 million views, the prime-time TV ratings during the summer schedule have ranked top 3 for many times, and the program has stayed on top of multiple platforms' rankings with its popularity soaring all the way.
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But data can only prove its popularity. What is worth discussing is why it can strike a chord deep in young people's hearts.
The most distinctive feature of this variety show is that it does not paste the brand on the surface of the program, but integrates the brand into the very texture of the program.
Celebrities do not come to read advertising lines for stationery, they are actually running a stationery store. From the transformation of the mobile stationery van, to the setting of "trading stories for stationery", to the natural appearance of IPs like Snoopy and Miffy in the operation scenes, M&G's brand genes are woven into the narrative of the variety show. This "variety show × IP" gameplay is the first of its kind in the industry.
And its relationship with young people is not just about "watching" and "being watched". The group of young people who chase idols, scroll through short videos, and treat variety shows as "digital snacks" are exactly the same group of people who rush into stationery stores to buy pens. The exact same pen or notebook that celebrities pick up in the show can be bought at the school gate the next day.
Influencers share product recommendations spontaneously
The brand does not pull young people into its own field, but directly steps into the places where they already stay.
What really makes people immerse in this program is the sense of resonance — which determines how deeply it can root in young people's hearts.
M&G has nearly 70,000 stores across China. Who does not have a M&G stationery store near the school gate in their childhood memories? If you forgot to bring a pen on school days, you would go there to buy a new one; when you passed by after school, you could not help but go in and stroll around. What people remember is not only the shelf full of pens and notebooks, but also the store owner — who remembers your favorite pen model and tells you "new arrivals are here". So when celebrities become "stationery managers" and seriously sort and sell products, that sense of familiarity is easily activated instantly. The awakening of this collective memory also keeps the topic's popularity at a high level.
The unique original form of the variety show continuously attracts people to click in, the high audience fit retains them, and finally those shared memories hidden in stationery stores that are awakened make people truly remember it. The reason why this variety show is so addictive is that young people find that there really is "someone willing to listen to you carefully".
As the "top stationery brand" that has grown up with everyone, M&G's capabilities are far more than producing a great variety show. Behind this mobile stationery van, a more huge new semester marketing layout has just kicked off.
M&G cares more about the new semester than you do
Those little emotions gently held by "Utopia Help" in the variety show exactly reflect the most real inner state of contemporary young people.
They tease on their lips that "they do not want the new semester to start", but practically pack their schoolbags in advance and carefully select new stationery, trying to use a sense of ritual to fully stack buffs for the new semester.
This is exactly the breakthrough point of M&G's new semester marketing this year — using specific little joys to hold those unspeakable little emotions during the new semester, and integrating products into the real folds of young people's lives. On the way of learning, there are not only scores and homework, but also those little joys that belong to you hidden in the details.
For student groups, a pen that "writes smoothly" and "is easy to use" is more important than anything else, and M&G has made the "easy to use" experience more detailed than imagined. The all-round "Correction Expert" is non-slip, drop-resistant, silent and labor-saving, with excellent performance and technological sense; the digital display compass Pro can draw a perfect circle accurately without a ruler; the invisible correction tape can make typos disappear in one pull, keeping the exercise book clean and tidy.
