Why Korean stars are fronting Indian brands

From just sampling Korean personal care, entertainment and food, Indians are slowly becoming familiar with Korean celebrities

- Soumya Gupta

Korean singer-entertainer Aoora promotes a year-end dance challenge for Pulse Candy.

It isn't every day that you hear a former K-pop singer belt out “deewana” and “khazana,” dressed in Santa Claus red next to a Christmas tree.

But Korean singer-entertainer Aoora pulled it off, promoting a year-end dance challenge for Pulse Candy.

But why would a mass-market candy, best known for its desi masala flavours, bring a Korean star to promote the brand?

That India is in the throes of a Hallyu wave is not new. Gen-Z consumers are spending their time and money on everything from authentic ramyun and Korean food to K-pop and other Korean music, bingeing on K-dramas with subtitles and dubbed in a variety of languages, and trying on a variety of Korean skincare, makeup and fashion brands.

But as the stars of Korean mainstream culture become more familiar to Indian audiences, brands are bringing these faces to the country, appointing them brand ambassadors or extending pan-Asian ad campaigns to the country.

Take Crocs, for instance, which released a monsoon-themed ad campaign last year starring Hindi film actor Sid dhant Chaturvedi and Korean actress Chae Soo-bin. The two-and-a-half-minute meet-cute, in the style of the quintessential Korean drama, racked up 20 million views on Crocs India’s YouTube account and 410 million views on the brand's Instagram handle alone.

A few weeks later, Colgate India extended an Asia-Pacific ad campaign to the country for their Visible White Purple toothpaste starring Korean singer-actress IU; the video has 58 million views on Colgate India's YouTube alone. Besides, the company is selling Colgate-branded IU fan merchandise on platforms like Amazon and Blinkit.