The THAAD issue may have closed prospects for new commercials for Chinese products for a lot of Korean celebrities, including “Descendants of the Sun” actor Song Joong-ki who used to endorse Vivo phones in China.
New Partner
However, a new door has opened to him to be one of the endorsers of an online marketplace, 11th Street, in Thailand. This time, he ditches Park Bo Gum, his bromance partner in three recent Domino’s Pizza commercials.
The 31-year-old actor is paired with a female Thai celebrity. She is Thai actress Mew Nittha with whom he made a brief appearance in Bangkok in February for the store’s launch. It also coincided with one of the fan meets of Park Bo Gum in Bangkok when Song Joong-ki was special guest.
Following the launch, 11th Street placed outdoor ads on the busiest Bangkok Mass Transit System stations in Chit Lom, Siam and Phrom Pong. The two also have TV and digital ads that went on air on Feb. 16. Rabbit cards, an e-money service in Thailand for mass transit networks, placed Song Joong-ki’s face on a limited release of the cards, Campaign Asia reported.
Successful Campaign
The campaign was effective because views on 11th Street’s Facebook page exceeded 1 million, according to Cheil Thailand, the agency behind the marketing campaign. Jaebum Ahn, president of Cheil Thailand, said the launch campaign is the initial stage to create high impact awareness of 11th Street among Thai consumers which is already known in Turkey, Malaysia and Indonesia as Elevenia.
Cheil Thailand picked Song Joong-ki as endorser of the brand because he is popular in the country following the global success of “Descendants of the Sun” in 2016. Even Thai Prime Minister Prayut Chan-ocha is a fan of the blockbuster 16-episode military-medical drama.