The Korean music industry as we know it today is a product of the 1990s, when it emerged as an instrument of South Korean soft power on the international political stage. Even the first famous K pop groups—such as H.O.T., Sechskies, or S.E.S.—were products of the so called idol factory model. Music groups were therefore not formed based on artists’ creative decisions, but in response to demand identified by professional agencies. To this day, these agencies control virtually every aspect of the lives and careers of K pop artists. As a result, any idol must be viewed as a product with an exceptionally low level of reputational risk. In short, K pop was created to coexist in close symbiosis with marketing and advertising.
After 2000, this model began to spread massively beyond the borders of South Korea as part of the so called Hallyu, or Korean Wave. K pop is only one component of a much broader package that also includes Korean dramas, films and TV series, as well as K beauty trends. The largest agencies, such as HYBE, YG Entertainment, SM Entertainment, and JYP, have become household names across Asia and have transformed into complex media and advertising powerhouses. Outside Asia, however, Hallyu spread more slowly. In recent years, it has experienced a boom as well, driven in part by the popularity of BLACKPINK. For example, HYBE reported a 41.5% increase in profits in the first quarter of 2023.
It is clear that K pop has real ambitions to reach the entire world—and advertising is one of its key weapons.
The Korean recipe for the perfect ad
Korean attitudes to advertising differ quite a bit from Western ones. At the heart of this approach are so called commercial films (CFs), which Koreans perceive as both an artistic work and an advertisement at the same time. Typically, these are short formats running 15 to 30 seconds, and most of them are produced specifically for television broadcasters. Their production value, however, is comparable to that of music videos, so it is no surprise that the leading roles are often played by popular idols. Unofficially, the rule is that the more prestigious the brand, the more likely it is to secure a more popular idol for its advertising. In other words, a brand’s popularity is directly proportional to the calibre of the advertising faces it can command.
Within this logic, a distinctive subgenre soon took shape: CF songs. These are essentially advertising jingles, but they are given the same attention and care as regular commercial singles. They are fully fledged recordings released through the same channels. In the past, some CF songs have even become outright megahits and viral trends on social media. This was the case, for example, with SHINee and their jingle for a Lotte snack commercial. 2NE1, in turn, debuted in 2009 in an advertisement for the LG Cyon Lollipop mobile phone. SNSD went even further, filming an entire music video titled “Chocolate Love” for the LG Cyon Chocolate model.
The secret weapon of K-pop marketing
If we want to understand how K pop advertising works, we need to realise that its strategy is built on cultivating parasocial relationships—a sociological term for a one sided relationship between an audience member and a specific media personality. Agencies build these ties through idols’ virtually continuous presence in the media space, via various video diaries, live streams, or platforms created specifically for this purpose, such as Weverse. A key aspect is that fans gain the apparent impression of access to their favourite idol’s private life, even though in the vast majority of cases this is merely a marketing fiction.
Parasocial relationships usually have three levels. In the first phase, a fan perceives the idol as a source of entertainment, but over time develops a strong emotional bond with them. The final stage is complete identification, which sociology considers a pathological phenomenon. For the Korean advertising industry, the crucial stage is therefore the middle one, where an emotional attachment is formed. Such fans typically show a significantly higher intention to purchase the advertised product if the recommendation comes from their favourite idol.
The boundary between authentic and paid content, however, remains the subject of an ongoing debate. In 2024, the journal Computers in Human Behavior published a study suggesting that explicitly promotional posts by idols reduce the intensity of parasocial relationships. Overly transparent commercialisation, therefore, undermines the relationship that has been built. This leads agencies to a clear conclusion: they need to be more sophisticated in their sales strategies, ideally integrating products into organic content. As a result, this boundary is becoming increasingly porous, and it is ever harder to distinguish what is authentic and what is not.
The numbers speak for themselves
K-pop marketing is an absurdly vast economic ecosystem. Celebrities appear in roughly 9% of television commercials in the United States, whereas in South Korea the figure is 57%. Singers and idols together account for about 70% of all advertising faces. Groups on the scale of BLACKPINK charge approximately 3 billion won (USD 2.2 million) for a single advertising campaign, while individual idols, such as Byun Woo-seok, earn around 900 million won for a single commercial. Korean cultural exports continue to break records year after year. In 2021, this segment was worth USD 12.45 billion, and the figure is growing sharply.
For brands, it is an investment that pays off. A 2024 Spanish study revealed that 55% of Spanish Gen Z K-pop fans actually purchase a product endorsed by their favourite idol. This behaviour is particularly common among female fans, who are, after all, often quite openly targeted by brand marketing. Lisa of BLACKPINK has more than 80 million followers on Instagram and, in terms of product endorsements, is one of the highest-paid pop idols in history. Idols are therefore often perceived as inseparably linked to the products they promote, which certainly has its advantages but also its drawbacks, especially when it comes to reputational risks.
A deal between a brand and an idol is more or less based on the assumption of the idol’s crystal-clear image. Tabloid scandals or controversial opinions are often an absolute no-go for Korean companies, so every contract goes through an extensive vetting process overseen by the relevant agency. If a scandal does occur, it practically means the immediate activation of contractual termination clauses. Actress Seo Ye-ji, for example, lost contracts with Inner Flora, Aer, Luna, and Rieti within just a few days. Companies are therefore increasingly diversifying and tending more toward the model of so-called group endorsements.
But what does this look like in practice? Concrete examples illustrate it best. The following five cases chart the pioneering advertising campaigns that turned K-pop into the massive phenomenon it undoubtedly is today.
The ad that took the charts by storm
In 2009, the South Korean mobile phone market was at the height of an unprecedented expansion. One of the key players at the time was LG Electronics, which was looking for an original way to launch its new Cyon Lollipop model. To that end, LG partnered with the agency YG Entertainment and decided not to rely on just one of its star assets, but two. On the one hand stood the already established Big Bang; on the other, the then-unknown girl group 2NE1, which had not even made its long-planned debut.
Video: BIGBANG & 2NE1 - LOLLIPOP M/V
The result was the song and music video Lollipop, released as a fully-fledged single and distributed to the music charts. 2NE1 thus debuted not as a music group but as a commercial product in a television advertisement. Fans, however, clearly did not mind. Lollipop almost immediately shot to the top of the charts, knocking off Super Junior’s megahit Sorry, Sorry. It was a huge success: for the first time ever, a television commercial had overwhelmed a regular single. From that moment on, it became clear that a CF song also had artistic value, and that the debut-as-advertisement strategy was a win-win scenario for the advertiser, the agency, and the group itself. The Korean market remembered that lesson—and LG decided to repeat it.
The prototype of a perfect fusion
The year 2009 gave the world more than just Lollipop. In the same year, LG also hired the rival agency SM Entertainment, which signed over its popular girl group SNSD (Girls’ Generation) for another advertising campaign. At that time, SNSD were experiencing nationwide momentum and were more or less regarded as Korea’s national girl group. Without exaggeration, they served as a pop-cultural icon for an entire generation and were widely known and loved across all age groups. It is therefore only logical that this synergy gave rise to what is probably the most famous Korean advertising collaboration of all.
Video: Girls' Generation 소녀시대 'Chocolate Love' MV
Chocolate Love was a commercial for the LG Cyon Chocolate mobile phone. LG gave this model a truly massive product launch, which included the release of a limited edition featuring photos of the SNSD members, an out-of-home campaign with their likenesses, and the broadcast of the music video during television prime time. Chocolate Love became a symbol of a comprehensive 360-degree CF strategy. SNSD showed the entire nation how an idol’s image could be transferred onto a technology product. The LG Cyon Chocolate was not just a phone—it was SNSD’s phone. For the first time, a complete fusion between idol and product took place before the eyes of fans. In the years that followed, SNSD became one of the most heavily utilised CF groups in history, with dozens of campaigns ranging from cosmetics to fast food. At that point, however, it was still a domestic playing field. It would soon become clear that the same logic also worked on a global scale.”
The ad made by the fans themselves
In 2019, the mid-range smartphone market reached a saturation point, causing concern particularly for Samsung. Generation Z consumers were increasingly turning to cheaper Chinese alternatives from Huawei and Oppo, which meant the loss of an absolutely key demographic for the South Korean company. Samsung therefore set itself the goal of increasing the popularity of its products by 25% and purchase intent by 10% across seven global markets. These ambitious targets, however, could only be achieved with the right partner. With unerring instinct, the company turned to YG Entertainment, which made a twofold decision: the campaign would focus primarily on TikTok, and its face would be the girl group BLACKPINK.
At the time, the four-member group was the fastest-growing K-pop act in the world, and each of its members—Jisoo, Jennie, Rosé, and Lisa—was already an established brand in her own right. The strategic aim was to record an original song whose chorus would effectively serve as the product slogan. The result was the first-ever global TikTok challenge campaign to use its own song and choreography. Through the hashtag #danceAwesome, users of the social network were encouraged to join in by filming their own dance videos based on BLACKPINK’s choreography. In this way, the campaign transformed advertising into a participatory experience. Thanks to BLACKPINK’s large fanbase, Samsung was effectively paying for advertising content that customers themselves were sharing among one another.
Video: BLACKPINK - 'AWESOME' M/V
The campaign’s results were breathtaking. Videos bearing the hashtag #danceAwesome generated more than 20 billion views on TikTok, and in total, around 5 million pieces of user-generated content were created. A further 23 million views were recorded across other platforms, including YouTube, Snapchat, and Instagram. Samsung’s brand popularity rose by 35%, easily surpassing the benchmark that had been set. Purchase intent increased by 15%, compared with the projected 10%. The campaign’s effect was also reflected in search engines: searches for the Samsung Galaxy A Series increased by 500%, and conversations about Samsung on social media became 19 times more frequent than before. It was a K-pop success in the purest sense of the word. The question, however, was whether K-pop fandom could also drive change among the biggest players in the world.
How K-pop sold out McDonald's
At the turn of 2020 and 2021, the fast-food chain McDonald’s was going through an existential crisis. Black, Latino, and Asian consumers were increasingly ceasing to perceive it as part of their culture, while competitors such as Popeyes, Chick-fil-A, and Chipotle were fighting to take its place. McDonald’s response was intended to be swift and forceful. The company therefore decided to partner with a globally popular music act and launch a massive marketing campaign simultaneously across 50 markets worldwide. The choice fell on a seven-member group that already had more than 70 million followers on Instagram, regularly ranked in the Billboard Top 10, and whose ARMY was famous for its fanatical loyalty and ability to turn enthusiasm into real purchases. That group was South Korea’s BTS.
The key element was the limited-edition BTS Meal, a replica of the group’s favourite order: 10 chicken nuggets, medium fries, and a Coca-Cola, complemented by new Sweet Chilli and Cajun sauces inspired by South Korean cuisine. On the musical side, the campaign was accompanied by the release of the hit “Butter,” a limited-edition merchandise collection (hoodies, bags, and T-shirts), and a series of Behind the Sauce videos on YouTube Live. It was the first celebrity campaign that McDonald’s had launched on a truly global scale.
Video: The BTS Meal is here!
In the second quarter of 2021, the chain’s revenues rose by 57% to USD 5.9 billion. In Korea, nugget sales surged by 250%. Social media virtually exploded: on TikTok, the hashtag #BTSMeal recorded 1.2 billion views, and the Instagram post about the BTS Meal became McDonald’s most-liked post ever. In just two months, the campaign generated more interactions than all of McDonald’s content from 2017 to 2020 combined. Above all, however, it demonstrated that K-pop fandom has the power to push a multinational corporation to focus more closely on local markets and adapt to their preferences.
How to sell soda to half of Asia
From a marketing perspective, Southeast Asia is a highly distinctive market. It comprises around 600 million potential consumers, who identify with a wide range of different cultures. What works in one market does not necessarily meet the expectations of others—especially when those markets are as distinctive as Malaysia, Singapore, the Philippines, Thailand, Indonesia, or Vietnam. Under such conditions, brand positioning is quite a challenge. The multinational corporation Pepsi sought to bridge this gap by creating a regional mega-platform, once again fronted by BLACKPINK as its ambassadors. It was a logical choice: both the group and its individual members have massive fan bases in all the region’s key countries. This gave rise to the campaign “Go All In For What You Love.” Its core message? Pushing beyond your own limits always pays off.
Video: Meet our newest Asia-Pacific spokespersons, BLACKPINK! #SundinAngPuso
The central one-minute spot is actually very simple. It portrays the members of BLACKPINK in various work-related situations as they pursue their dreams. In the field, the campaign was complemented by limited-edition Pepsi products in 7-Eleven stores in Malaysia and Singapore. Key slogans were localised for all markets, and television stations across the region broadcast the commercial on a loop for weeks. In this way, Pepsi maximised the power of parasocial relationships between fans and BLACKPINK. To some extent, this was a completely different strategy from the one adopted by the BTS Meal campaign, which happened to be running at the same time. Whereas BTS Meal created a universal cultural bridge, Pepsi’s campaign with BLACKPINK adapted the same product to specific markets, thereby achieving a stronger level of customer identification. Both campaigns ultimately proved more than capable of delivering results.
A story worth sharing
BLACKPINK’s EP Deadline is a symbolic celebration of the K-pop girl group’s tenth anniversary. Over that time, they have become a global phenomenon, and K-pop will always be indebted to them for helping secure its place in the highest tier of the music industry. All of the members of BLACKPINK have successful solo careers and can be regarded as genuine endorsement powerhouses. Jisoo is an ambassador for Dior, Jennie for Chanel, Calvin Klein, and Jacquemus. Rosé has become the face of Tiffany & Co. and Saint Laurent, while Lisa represents Celine and Bvlgari. Their comeback is therefore not only a musical event but also a major opportunity for brands involved in these five overlapping ecosystems. To the ones mentioned above, it is also necessary to add the group’s existing partners as a whole: besides Samsung and Pepsi, these include Adidas, Korean Air, Starbucks, and Oreo.
Video: BLACKPINK - ‘GO’ M/V
What follows from this for marketers? Above all, that an idol is not merely an advertising vehicle. An idol is a living cultural ecosystem with its own logic, values, and fan base—one that can fundamentally influence real purchasing behaviour. The brands that understood this first were not paying simply for a face in an advertisement. They were paying for a ticket into a world they otherwise would not have been able to access. And that is precisely the lesson K-pop offers anyone seeking to reach Generation Z: it is not enough to have a good product. It has to be a story worth sharing.