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Local ads, foreign face: Why local companies are using Korean artists as brand reps
Retail ads in Jakarta and other big cities are being swept by the Korean wave as brands capitalize on the foreign celebrities' popularity for greater visibility and relevance among younger consumers.
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Pink upgrade: Scarlett Whitening, an Indonesian skincare company, collaborated with K-pop girl band TWICE to launch their products in a special pink packaging. (Courtesy of Scarlett Whitening) (Archive/Courtesy of Adilah Azri)
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s the Korean wave, or hallyu, grows in global dominance, the faces of South Korean celebrities have become almost impossible to avoid. Even in Jakarta and other big cities in the country, many product ads of major brands now feature foreign celebrities, mostly Korean.
From billboards to mall displays and to ads at MRT stations, both Indonesian companies and locally based multinationals across multiple industries are recruiting Korean artists as “brand ambassadors” to stay relevant.
The advertising trend began to take hold in 2018, when Singaporean e-commerce company Shopee hired as its brand ambassador BLACKPINK, the immensely popular Korean pop (K-pop) girl band. Local competitors Tokopedia and Blibli followed soon after, with the former recruiting mega-boy band BTS in 2019 and the latter recruiting actor Park Seo Jun in 2020 to front their brands.
Blibli public relations vice president Yolanda Nainggolan told The Jakarta Post that the aim was to bring the online marketplace closer to younger consumers, many of who were fans of K-pop and Korean drama (K-drama) television series.
"The [Park Seo Jun] campaign was launched in conjunction with National Online Shopping Day (Harbolnas) on Dec. 12, 2021. The results showed fourfold sales growth, compared to the daily average, particularly for Korean food and snacks,” said Yolanda.
The campaign’s success proved how the right brand ambassador could elevate brand image.
A celebrity can even revitalize a brand on their popularity alone, without promoting a new or specific product. Scarlett Whitening recently rolled out an ad series in collaboration with K-pop girl band TWICE that prompted sales growth for products like facial washes, toners, serums and face creams. The only change the local skincare company made was to update the packaging of older products with an exclusive pink box containing photocards of TWICE members with printed messages.
