Song Joong-ki Vivo Subway Floor Ads (Photo : Weibo)
Song Joong-ki’s ability to speak fluent Chinese has been cited why he is a popular endorser in China than another South Korean Hallyu actor, Lee Min Ho, who admitted difficulty with Mandarin.
That advantage, plus the extreme popularity of “Descendants of the Sun” in China and South Korea, made the 30-year-old actor a very credible endorser of commercial products that after the 16-episode drama concluded in mid-April, Song Joong-ki was deluged with offers to endorse products and services.
From products endorsements he made for the first six months of 2016, Song Joong-ki is estimated to have earned 1 billion won in South Korea and 20 million won in China. But his talent fee was well worth it because the endorsements boosted sales of the products and services by 40 billion won, reported Soompi.
The actor has endorsement in almost all industries such as food, beverage, clothing, vehicles and aviation. Because of his strong drawing power, a spokesperson of an advertising agency said companies want one-year contracts with Song Joong-ki, not the standard six months to lock-in his loyalty to the brand.
In China, he is the exclusive endorse of at least fine different products and may add a 10th for a mobile phone company in the Asian giant. The report could be referring to Vivo, a cellphone firm, which released new TV and print ads last week, but made the mistake of placing his ads on subway floors, reported AllKpop.
Fans of Song Joong-ki, who treat him like a deity, certainly do not want to step on the handsome actor’s face. Chinese netizens asked Vivo to change the location of the ads and apologize or they threatened to shut down the stores of the company. Vivo ordered the ads on the subway floor immediately removed and promised not to repeat the mistake.
