Even when they don’t say it in so many phrases, your aunties adore you. However as a substitute of an ungainly heart-to-heart, they’ve a distinct tactic for making their emotions identified.

Behold the facility ballad, belted out karaoke-style by 5 girls of a sure age in impeccable make-up and smart sneakers. And their unique music, “Have You Eaten But?” is as layered and nuanced as a spicy foremost dish.

The tune, the charming singers, and their teenage nephew character co-star in a brand new marketing campaign for Panda Express, because the restaurant continues to focus on youthful demos and deal with model constructing in its promoting.

The work comes from indie company Opinionated, which received the Panda Categorical enterprise final yr after a aggressive evaluate, with “Have You Eaten But?” aspiring to dig right into a cultural perception.

“Asking ‘Have You Eaten But?’ is how many people present love with out saying it immediately,” in accordance with Fabiola del Rio, vp of built-in advertising and marketing communications at Los Angeles-based Panda Categorical. “This query is rarely actually about meals, it’s about caring for each other.”

Opinionated recruited director Kate Hollowell of Epoch Movies for the spot, which launches within the lead-up to Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month in Might however will prolong via the remainder of the yr.

Company creatives additionally collaborated with Larkin Seiple, an award-winning cinematographer identified for Everything Everywhere All At Once, Infantile Gambino’s “That is America” music video, and Netflix’s Beef, to infuse the content material along with his signature surreal-yet-emotive visible model.

The 60-second anthem spot, with its melodramatic soundtrack, mixes its throwback really feel and setting with a up to date sensibility, introducing a gaggle of recent elders with instant enchantment and breakout potential. 

“We’ve all the time believed that meals is the common language of care, and this marketing campaign celebrates that stunning connection—one which resonates not simply inside Asian cultures, however with anybody who’s ever been fed by somebody who cares for them,” del Rio mentioned.