Song Joong-ki Vivo Commercial (Photo : Vivo)
Chinese smartphone maker Vivo is replacing “Descendants of the Sun” actor Song Joong-ki as endorser of the brand. He is being replaced by Taiwanese actor Eddie Peng.
The change as endorsers is because of China’s ban on Hallyu stars in July due to South Korea’s stand on the deployment of Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) missiles amid Beijing’s objection. Actually, it was the brand which was on the losing end of the deal because it fulfilled its contract price of 22 million yuan ($3.3 million) a year to the “Descendants of the Sun” actor even if Song Joong-ki had to stop shooting for Vivo that month.
Vivo then searched for a replacement for the South Korean actor as its endorser and found Peng who is now its new brand ambassador, Inquisitr reported. Eddie Peng is part of the Chinese-American film “The Great Wall” which features Jing Tan and Hollywood actor Matt Damon.
In picking Eddie Peng as replacement to Song Joong-ki, Vivo said it believes the Taiwanese actor would help further improve sales of its new Vivo X9 smartphone. Vivo said the actor represent the phone brand’s positivity.
It is not just Song Joong-ki affected by the Hallyu ban. The scenes of Hwang Chi-yeul, a Korean singer, were removed from a Chinese TV show. The premiere of “Saimdang, Light’s Diary,” a Korean drama featuring actress Lee Young-ae, has been postponed to 2017 from its initial schedule in October.
Song Joong-ki and “Descendants of the Sun” is lucky because the Hallyu ban came three months after the blockbuster 16-episode drama had finished airing over iQiyi, a video platform in China.
But it seems if Song Joong-ki had challenges on his endorsements in China, his co-star, Song Hye Kyo – who is celebrating her 35th birthday on Tuesday, Nov. 22 - is gaining more commercials. She recently endorsed Dyson hair dryer in an advertisement geared to a Pan-Asia audience with the use of four languages, namely: English, Taiwanese, Korean and Cantonese.
