Their collaboration was once called a “marketing genius.”
Amidst the ongoing legal feud between HYBE and Min Hee Jin, the CEO of ADOR, multiple groups under HYBE have been negatively affected, LE SSERAFIM being one of them. Netizens believe that this conflict has taken another toll on the group.
On May 30, KST, a netizen posted that Goobne Chicken, the major food brand that LE SSERAFIM recently modeled for, had unfollowed the group on Instagram. As evidence, they posted a screenshot of Goobne’s following list, which included only 9 accounts.
Goobne’s campaign with LE SSERAFIM kicked off in early May of 2023 and received massive attention from fans for its clever marketing tactics. The brand posted advertisements with taglines that played off LE SSERAFIM’s iconic three title tracks: “Unforgiven” to “Unfried,” “Antifragile” to “Anti-fry,” and “Fearless” to “Oil-less.”
#LE_SSERAFIM for Goobne Chicken
OIL-LESS (FEARLESS)
ANTI-FRY (ANTIFRAGILE)
UNFRIED (UNFORGIVEN)— joe (logged-out) (@elsserafim) May 4, 2023
With the brand allegedly unfollowing LE SSERAFIM, some netizens are convinced that it marks the end of their brief journey together.
But the speculation is based on shaky grounds, as many fans pointed out that it is entirely possible that the brand never followed LE SSERAFIM’s account in the first place. It is also possible that their contract period was over, as one-year advertisement contracts are an industry standard.
On the other hand, Goobne’s previous models, ASTRO’s Cha Eunwoo and actress Park Bo Young, continued to work with the brand from 2018 until 2020. So, many feel that LE SSERAFIM’s ongoing controversies affected their chances of a similar contract renewal. In addition, the last time the brand posted LE SSERAFIM’s picture on its social media was in February this year, whereas their first campaign was in May 2023. This has been considered a sign of Goobne Chicken avoiding association with the group during the initial months of the HYBE vs ADOR turmoil.
Though there is no way to officially confirm the group’s current status with the brand, it wouldn’t be entirely out of the ordinary for them to face such consequences for petty controversies. Actress Han So Hee has also allegedly suffered a similar predicament due to her recent dating “scandal.” You can read more about it here.
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