BTS Ads and Culture

Note: This was written by me using various sources from BTS and significant authors cited from my Communication 223 course in 2020

In this essay, I will be conducting a semiotic analysis of some celebrity ads such as BTS and Hyundai ads as also the BTS and Samsung ads (2020). I will also be critiquing how those same celebrities are endorsed as part of the cool culture and how the “3 foundational pillars of cool,” from Goldman & Papson, (1996 readings) are found in these ads.

(BTS Jimin from an ad, 2018)

Cool culture is this trend that is constantly renewing and updating itself, because “[each trend] never lasts,” according to Heath & Potter (2004, p. 191). Therefore, trends tend to change within a month, or even just a day, because the concept of ‘cool’ is constantly changing and renewing (Heath & Potter, 2014, p. 191). Celebrities often appear in ads to promote the product and make the viewers want to wear or use the same product as in the advertisement (Heath & Potter, 2014, p. 192). In this case, cool becomes political because “cool is associated with merely cultural figures,” with celebrities being those “merely cultural figures,” according to Heath & Potter (2014, pp. 191-192). Therefore, I argue that ads that contain celebrities hold more power with the product, and the viewers are more likely to buy that product than ads that do not feature a celebrity. Celebrities today are commonly featured in a lot of everyday consumption ads, including fashion ads, phone ads, and even car ads (Storey, 2014).

BTS, a popular Korean boy band, has a lot of influence over their fans, named ARMYs. And so, when they are featured in an advertisement, ARMYs often become new consumers of the products that BTS advertises (Chosun, 2019). As an example of this, BTS was featured in a Hyundai Palisade car ad. According to Koreaboo News (Chosun, 2019), a great number of ARMYs and other viewers ordered the Hyundai Palisade car as a result of BTS’s appearance in the car ad. The company itself is struggling to produce enough cars to fulfill their orders, because of the surge in demand. Such a powerful influence not only lets the company earn more profit but also increases the revenue of the celebrities themselves. What fans are doing shows an example of the chase for the purpose of being cool; where every fan is struggling to keep up with the trend to be as cool as their favorite idol groups (Heath & Potter, 2004, p. 189).

The BTS x Hyundai ad from April 2020 is an ad that is created in honor of Earth Day. At the start, the ad begins with an empty chair above which is a simple hanging microphone. BTS’s eldest member Jin walks in and says, “Emerald ocean.” This phrase describes one of the places that the Hyundai car can take the viewer to (HyundaiWorldwide, 2020). Since each BTS member walks in and describes the environment, I argue they are not only presenting the features of the car but also the artists themselves. Each different landscape that they appear in represents each BTS member, and this is how Hyundai connects to Kpop; by advertising eco-friendly cars common in Kpop mainstream culture (2020). This also helps to let the viewers discover the beauty in nature and the endless possibilities that this car would allow them to have. This Hyundai ad has the idea of environmentalism and going eco-green and illustrates this with the quote, “Hydrogen is the new energy,” (HyundaiWorldwide, 2020). The slogan Hyundai uses to advertise and make viewers believe their cars are eco-friendly to the environment is an example of authenticity, which is one of the “3 Foundational Pillars of Cool,” from Goldman & Papson (1996, pg 142), where they prove their authenticity of the product and the value. The Hyundai x BTS ad also includes this idea of self-love and environmentalism, where BTS quotes; “[w]e hope this world will stay with us” (HyundaiWorldwide, 2020). Through this phrase, they are not only inviting the viewers to love the environment, but I argue this is also a way they are reaching their fans, calling for them to stay together and continue to support BTS throughout their journey. The ad also features class as part of the cool culture, owning a luxury car that can take you to many places, and unity (HyundaiWorldwide, 2020). Celebrities are one of the three ideas of cool culture in advertising, where “cool culture has become a central ideology,” as quoted by Heath & Potter (2004). Therefore, Hyundai is not only advertising their car but also boosting the popularity of the celebrities being endorsed through this ad, BTS.

In the second advertisement example, BTS is being advertised wearing PUMA Turin (2018). PUMA is a popular sports fashion brand, like that of Nike and Adidas, both being one of the biggest sports companies (2018). I noticed how PUMA acts as a platform that focuses on the story of each player or artist in the advertisement, this being slightly different from Nike’s idea of equality and competition. In Douglas Holt’s reading on cultural approaches to branding, he discusses how iconic brands become cultural symbols and popular culture is becoming part of our everyday livelihoods; a “circulation of myths,” as Holt (2005) quotes. BTS in this ad advertising more of themselves than the shoes, which is different from the Hyundai advert because there seem to be more features of the places the car could take the viewer than shots of the members themselves. Comparing the Hyundai ad to the PUMA x BTS ad, PUMA focuses more on the members of BTS than the product, as seen in the Hyundai ad (2018). PUMA does this by letting BTS advertise themselves and features how BTS celebrates their four-year debut with ARMY, reminiscing their memories and wearing the PUMA TURIN shoes (2018). The artwork created by PUMA on the soles of the shoes symbolizes self-love and friendship, and for BTS Armys, they represent the love and support of the fandom and in the same way, BTS appreciates their fans. The way BTS presents themselves as artists is an example of hip-hop and K-pop culture, about their experiences through the lenses of a singer or rapper (PUMA, 2018). This PUMA ad is also a form of cool culture appropriation and authenticity which falls under the “3 pillars of the cool category,” mentioned in Naomi Klein’s (2000) readings. Puma uses authenticity, where the members of BTS reflect on their memories in each performance and of achieving their dreams with ARMY. This brings a sense of friendship and truly conveys the idea of following your dreams. In the end, when the BTS member Jin opens the shoe box, he is shown cutting out the news that BTS are the new ambassadors of PUMA in Korea and placing it in the old shoe box. This is another example of ads using authenticity, and how Jin is using this important memory to show his love and support for his band and continue to dream forward with his quote, “Dream Bigger,” (PUMA, 2018).

In the third example, BTS and SK Telecom created a phone ad and also advertised the SK Telecom company for cellular data in October 2016. This ad is an example of culture appropriation, where BTS uses the subculture of hip hop to create this SK Telecom ad (2016). The catchy song phrase “I guarantee variety,” found in the SK Telecom ad (2016), is an example of how being cool is something that is different and unstable culture, as discussed by Naomi Klein’s (2000) readings; by convincing viewers there is variety and their product is “cool” and different from others. SK Telecom engages in BTS and hip-hop culture using dance to draw in their viewers, and by“allowing people to gather and socialize,” mentioned in Douglas & Holt’s 2005 readings. This makes it look like SK Telecom is trying to sell hip hop when the products they are advertising are the latest phones released by Samsung and LG and comparing each of them. This method is comparatively better than the previous advertisements and is an example of manipulation that falls underneath alienation. Alienation is the result of overexposure of the ad according to Heath & Potters (2004); this applies to BTS dancing to the same song over and over again as SK Telecom advertises the mobile products and their company. I have seen other ads where SK Telecom had BTS and other bands collaborate for their ads, which suggests SK Telecom is a platform for K-pop and hip-hop culture, adding music into their ads as a way to draw in their audience and viewers. Hip-hop culture mainly has the idea of sharing and enjoyment of life, courage in exploring new moves and meeting new people, and the challenges in learning to dance (Naomi, 2000, p. 68). SK Telecom uses BTS and hip-hop music to draw in their viewers to buy their product. SK Telecom (2016) does this by showing off the phones’ immersive experience and demonstrating the quality of the Samsung phones’ cameras by taking a look at BTS behind the scenes and a backstage tour. The smartphone “is not a direct social relation but rather material relations between the person and product,” as quoted by Marx (1976) and mentioned in Heath & Potter’s (2004) readings. This means that the distribution of products creates material relations, and BTS being advertised while holding the product they are selling is an example of this. By interacting with the product, BTS and SK Telecom are creating both material relations and the authenticity of the product in cool culture (2016).

The fourth ad that was discovered from Instagram and AllKpop 2020 article by an APK Staff, is a BTS print ad of ‘Bora Bora’ ice cream created by ‘Baskin Robbins’ and inspired by BTS. The Baskin Robbins x BTS (2020) ad shows another example of how advertisers are following BTS because of their popularity and demand. The companies try their best to recruit BTS to attract viewers and potential customers. This is another example of celebrity cool culture and authenticity. Authentic objects are used to create this cool ice cream ad, where BTS members are holding spoons next to the giant ice cream model (APKStaff, 2020). The giant ice cream model is supposed to be the focal point, but so is BTS sitting below the ice cream. Baskin Robbins has successfully drawn in more customers with their ad by placing a delicious-looking ice cream statue and celebrities posing next to the statue. The color purple used on the ice cream is inspired by BTS because it is BTS fandom’s universal color, purple, symbolizing their friendship.

The ads shown above where BTS is featured became instantly popular, with these cool products being used by many viewers and ARMY around the world. This is a result of BTS being one of the top groups in the South Korean music industry, and they hold many endorsements and participate in various advertising and marketing campaigns. Powerful and famous celebrities like BTS are constantly being endorsed and advertised with popular or unpopular products, for companies to make more profit as well as to promote the artists themselves to more people. This is an example of capitalism in cool advertising culture, where “ The 3 Foundational Pillars of Cool: Alienation, appropriation and authenticity,” mentioned by Goldman & Papson, (1996), continue to be used. The trend of being as cool as BTS continues, as ARMY and viewers gather around the world to buy their products. This is where the idea of buying the same product as your favorite idol or group, BTS in this case, originated, as you are considered an ARMY (BTS fan) and considered cool like them.

References

AllKpop (2020). ‘Baskin Robbins’ Korea launches limited edition BTS-inspired ‘Bora

Bora’s ice cream flavor. [Image] APKStaff: Korea Retrieved from: https://www.google.com/url?sa=i&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.allkpop.com%2Farticle%2F2020%2F07%2Fbaskin-robbins-korea-launches-limited-edition-bts-inspired-bora-bora-ice-cream-flavor&psig=AOvVaw0bzRnJbQSUxDYlr8y7kmdy&ust=1596329731262000&source=images&cd=vfe&ved=0CAIQjRxqFwoTCICJ3Ofl-OoCFQAAAAAdAAAAABAD

Chosun, B. (2019) Koreaboo: BTS’s Endorsement Was So Powerful That Hyundai Is

Literally Struggling to Keep Up With Demand. Retrieved from: https://www.koreaboo.com/news/bts-hyundai-palisades-demand-struggle/

Goldman & Papson. (1996). “Authenticity in the age of Poseur,” In Sign Wars: The Cluttered

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in Inside Consumption, Eds. S, Ratneswar, et al. NY Routledge, 2005) Pg 273-291. Retrieved from SFU library and canvas.

HyundaiWorldwide, (2020, April) Hyundai X BTS Presents for the Earth (Full Ver.). [Youtube

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from: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tCl89GcKd70

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https://www.marxists.org/archive/marx/works/1867-c1/

Puma. (2018) PUMA TURIN-MADE BY BTS [Youtube Video]

Retrieved from:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9iDEft7nchU

SK Telecom. (2016). BTS x SK Telecom Samsung Galaxy 8 an 8Commercial. [Youtube video]

Retrieved from: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cIXs_WrY2zs

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