Why do puns work so well in coffee brand marketing?

Homophonic puns have moved from dismissed wordplay to a common device in brand advertising. Heytea renamed "Duck Shit Fragrance" to "Duck Joy Fragrance," a shift of one character that lands differently in Cantonese and Mandarin and reinforces the brand's signature symbol. Starbucks has similarly used surname homophones and English puns to draw attention and discussion.

The mechanism is memory and closeness: a pun ties a product name to a sound the audience already knows, so recall improves and the brand feels more approachable. Guangdong netizens treated the Heytea change as Cantonese-accented Mandarin, which added a local, down-to-earth flavor. For coffee knowledge watchers, the caution is moderation, since vulgarity or cheap cleverness can backfire.

In today's consumer market, homophonic puns are no longer dismissed as a despised word game; instead, they have become a traffic code for major brand advertising copy. From Heytea renaming "Duck Shit Fragrance" to "Duck Joy Fragrance," to Starbucks playing with surname homophones and English puns, these clever wordplay tricks hide a deep logic of strengthening brand memory and closing the distance with consumers. This article deeply dissects these viral cases, exploring why homophonic puns can dominate the humor of all age groups, while reminding brands to use them in moderation to avoid backfiring due to vulgarity or cheap cleverness.

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How obsessed are humans with homophonic puns?

A netizen once made a pledge: All you homophonic pun accounts online, listen up. I'm putting it out there—I'll follow every single one I see!

Once disliked by many, homophonic puns have now become a traffic powerhouse for many big brand advertising copy! It can be said that homophonic puns sweep across the humor of all age groups, provided everyone uses the same language.

Recently, Heytea quietly changed "Duck Shit Fragrance" to "Duck Joy Fragrance," and sharp-eyed netizens caught it right away! Now, a heated discussion among Guangdong netizens has erupted on major social platforms... What exactly made Guangdong netizens so enthusiastic? Because in Cantonese, 鸭aap2 屎si2 香hoeng1, where the pronunciation of si2 is similar to the Mandarin "喜" (joy) (though there are still slight differences in tone), so Guangdong netizens jokingly said: This is definitely Cantonese-accented Mandarin!!

Although it's just a slight tonal adjustment of one character between Mandarin and Cantonese, it can maximize the deepening of consumers' memory and recognition of the Heytea brand. On one hand, "喜" (joy) as a brand symbol is reinforced, utilized, and extended, achieving a double meaning; on the other hand, through the homophonic effect with a fun and friendly Cantonese-accented Mandarin vibe, it not only tells everyone where Heytea comes from but also showcases the "down-to-earth" trait of Guangdong people;

In this way, when ordering, people won't feel a psychological barrier to the product because of that "shi" character~ Duck Shit Fragrance, as a precious variety of Phoenix Dancong, also known as Silver Flower Fragrance, has a unique and elegant aroma, not as the name suggests. (To be honest, pronouncing Duck Shit Fragrance in Cantonese really trips you up!) As for why the name is so mismatched with the tea itself, there are various folk explanations, but this name does indeed cause misunderstandings for first-time hearers. Therefore, changing it to Duck Joy Fragrance this time can both deepen consumers' impression of the brand and eliminate the misunderstanding caused by the name.

The fun of homophonic puns can not only make many dull things lively, but in the process of netizens imitating each other, the brand also gains deep传播. Not long ago, Starbucks' surname homophonic puns even surged to the top of热搜 on various platforms, and netizens couldn't help but exclaim after seeing them: My mind is now full of all kinds of puns! I can't get rid of them!

"World-class Ms. Liu," "Order a beautiful Mr. Liang," "Stir-fried beef with Ms. He," "Yes I Ms. Du," "Don't mention Mr. Hu"—as soon as the homophonic puns came out, almost every netizen buying Starbucks' first reaction was not to take a sip, but to immediately take a photo and post it on Moments! Because of this, it successfully sparked netizens' curiosity, and even those who usually hesitate for a long time when buying Starbucks became decisive because of the puns. Besides Chinese, English has also been played with new tricks by Starbucks. "We've bean watting for you," if everyone glances hastily, they would directly understand it as "We've been waiting for you." But on closer inspection, they'd find that "been" in the copy uses the homophone "bean." Translated into Chinese, it's also a homophonic pun, "我们豆（都）在这里等你" (We're all here waiting for you), seamlessly connecting coffee with brand culture.

Nowadays, people love "homophonic puns" so much, partly because the rise of stand-up comedy in the past two years has brought homophones to a new perspective, triggering everyone's resonance with life and culture. On the other hand, in Chinese, many characters, though pronounced the same, carry completely different meanings. For example, pasting the character "福" (fortune) upside down implies fortune has arrived~ Another example is Wang Wei's poem "Send Yuan Er to Anxi" with the line "渭城朝雨邑轻尘，客舍青青柳色新." Here, "柳" (willow) is a homophone for "留" (stay), subtly expressing reluctance to part.

The funnier the pun, the higher the brand's discussion, the higher the clicks, and the better the traffic. Although the cost of creating homophonic puns is low, it highly tests copywriting skills!

Homophonic puns have endless charm and can inject infinite vitality into people's dull daily lives. They draw from our daily trivialities, often making people feel especially close, and an ordinary word or sentence, after being packaged with homophonic replacements, is more likely to become a joke that the public loves and enjoys, and can achieve wide spread.

This is a netizen's pun

This is Vans brand's response to the pun

But not all homophonic puns are favored by people. Some think vulgar homophonic puns are disgusting, others think homophonic puns sometimes become a tool for "acting clever," avoiding solving problems. Some also feel homophonic puns are mocking or "implying."

So, use puns in moderation! The good or bad impression a brand gives is really just a tone apart.

Image source: Internet

The above content is compiled by CoffeeHunters, a coffee news website.