
Does that music video you’re watching have a suspiciously high rate of visible brand names? Are your headphones reminding you that you haven’t yet bought that new thing that everyone’s talking about? If so, there’s a good chance that the song is a CM single, an advertisement song for a product or service. Companies in South Korea put idols’ popularity to good use and hire them to promote products for them. We’ve collected 10 of our favorites for a little product placement parade! Fair warning: try not to spend all your money on your favorite idol’s product — save some for whatever they’ll be promoting next year, too. Using well-known faces and voices to promote a product is a genius move in itself and adding idols into the equation creates the perfect storm of chart-topping music that everyone will hear, idols that hoards of fans look to for fashion and lifestyle inspiration, and a product that has now entered the minds of an entire target audience.
10. T-ARA for Nonghyup Apples — “Apple is A”
9. 2NE1 for Yamaha Fiore — “Don’t Stop the Music”
8. Autumn Vacation for TheraFlu — “Cold Medicine”
7. Jang Geun Suk and SISTAR for Samsung YEPP — “Magic Drag”
6. 2PM for Corby Anycall — “My Color”
5. f(x) for LG Chocolate — “Chocolate Love”
4. Sandara Park (2NE1) for Cass Beer — “Kiss”
3. 2PM and Girls’ Generation for Ca0ribbean Bay — “Cabi Song”
2. Big Bang and 2NE1 for LG Lollipop — “Lollipop”
1. Hyun Bin, JYJ, Big Bang, Choi Ji Woo, Song Seun Hun, 2PM, Kim Hyun Joong, and Jang Geun Suk for Lotte Duty Free — “So I’m Loving You”
Lotte Duty Free broke out the big guns for this one — who could refuse anything promoted so earnestly by so many good-looking people?
Source: MTV Korea
