bts' brand endorsements, luxury goods vs necessity/home goods, and what this difference in branding and image rlly says

  • i've been mulling over this topic for a while since there is always some weird discourse surrounding "why bts doesnt get luxury brand endorsements like other groups" or "why does bh stop bts from taking such endorsements" or the like. i wasnt rlly sure how i wanted to approach this topic but this made me think


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    bts' brand deals have always been huge, though some kpop stans seem to think only luxury fashion brands like gucci provide any sort of worthwhile status for idols. but its rlly interesting to me that even in their brand deals bts are able to show a bit of down to earth ness or humility. they promote things that people need, phones, cars, food products (as well as some luxury home goods like the boyfriend massage chair, but still home goods nonetheless). it seems like a purposeful move on their part. they have truly infiltrated the consciousness into becoming a household name in kr, whereas things like luxury fashion brand deals and fashion shows for example always kind of put up a wall between high profile celebs and average people that could never afford the clothing in the first place.


    just some rambling. feel free to share your thoughts

    who's your favorite artist?

    Edited once, last by aclassyteaparty ().

  • bts' brand deals have always been huge, though some kpop stans seem to think only luxury fashion brands like gucci provide any sort of worthwhile status for idols. but its rlly interesting to me that even in their brand deals bts are able to show a bit of down to earth ness or humility. they promote things that people need, phones, cars, food products (as well as some luxury home goods like the boyfriend massage chair, but still home goods nonetheless). it seems like a purposeful move on their part. they have truly infiltrated the consciousness into becoming a household name in kr, whereas things like fashion brand deals and fashion shows for example always kind of put up a wall between high profile celebs and average people that could never afford the clothing in the first place.

    First, I think it's weird and uncanny when BTS is shaded or belittled for not having any luxury brand endorsements when it's pretty evident that it's not because they can't get them, rather because they're always gifted things from luxury brands, choose not to endorse them, or the brand can't afford all of them.


    Second, BTS promotes their fair share of expensive items/brands, like Samsung. The clothes they choose to wear in their personal time are worth hundreds of thousands of dollars, which is fine and great because they earned it and can wear whatever they want, but that's not exactly "down to earth" or showing "humility" on their part.


    Third, idols that are indeed promoting luxury brand and items also promote things that are more affordable to the average person and brands that are more household names, like common foods and gadgets. BTS aren't the only ones. You can have both and still be humble and a household name because come in all statuses- poor, middle class, and rich. They can cater to all. To say promoting luxury items "puts up a wall" between high profile celebs and the average person isn't wrong, but that same average person can choose to save up and splurge on a luxury item should they want to treat themselves or just but what their favorite celeb is promoting. Likewise, a wealthier person might not care for the cheaper brands they promote, and that's fine too.


    Forth, sponsoring "down to earth" items doesn't really mean anything when in the end it's all business and capitalism, and they're still making a hefty amount regardless of what they're promoting. It's all about what's going to get them/their company ore revenue, and the answer's clear there.

  • I mean have people seen what, for example, SRK endorses? :pepe-smug:


    For those who don't know... he is the most popular actor in Bollywood and endorses every thing under the sun from toothpastes, to paint etc. He is a household name, selling household items.


    Celebs make choices when they choose to endorse certain products while rejecting others. If money was the only end goal and not the image they are happy with, they would have been accepting everthing that comes their way.


    And it's foolish to think that BTS, being the biggest act worldwide, would blindly endorse products they don't even believe in or want attached to their name, professionally.

    "Overspending on my pens, that are more in number... than your fans" - Suga.

    Edited once, last by AmmaAffa ().

  • anyone who says BTS can't get luxury endorsements is talking out of their ass


    however, trying to spin BTS's endorsements as some kind of big brained move on bighit's part is, also taking it too far. Bighit only cares about who's willing to pay the most for for an OT7 endorsement. They'll slap BTS's faces on anything if the pay is right. Their branding is all over the place. Let's not forget the massage chairs.

  • uh ok kinda confused at your point. i feel like you jumped the gun on a lot of the things you're saying here. i didn't mention any other specific groups or what else they may or may not be promoting outside of luxury brand items. this was specifically framed as what bts promotes vs what people want them to promote/dis them for not promoting. but the fact is many idols do not "cater to all" with their endorsements. an idol that does luxury fashion and luxury makeup endorsement is usually only doing that. maybe a few random food endorsements too, but here im talking about BRAND endorsements, not product endorsements. few idols at the caliber im talking about do brand endorsements for an overall food chain or smtg.



    i also dont see why you felt the need to bring up bts' personal attire... the thread title even says "branding and image". i am well aware that what bts and bh are doing is creating an image of the group. the members obviously live luxurious lives in private. but that is not the topic at hand. i also did not mean humility in only the way the member handle their money in the op if that was unclear

    who's your favorite artist?

  • Your lack of awareness of BTS, what they are and what they stand for becomes more and more apparent everytime you open your mouth. They don't just wear expensive brands but also support small businesses in their own personal capacity.

    IMG_20210312_082044.jpg


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  • anyone who says BTS can't get luxury endorsements is talking out of their ass


    however, trying to spin BTS's endorsements as some kind of big brained move on bighit's part is, also taking it too far. Bighit only cares about who's willing to pay the most for for an OT7 endorsement. They'll slap BTS's faces on anything if the pay is right. Their branding is all over the place. Let's not forget the massage chairs.

    i literally mentioned the massage chair.... its still a home good which i accounted for in even the title of the op. anyway it is just not tru that bh will "slap bts' face on anything" or that the members will let them. we already know that much. you're naive if you think bh doesn't always have bts' image in mind with everything they sign off on the group doing. they're the biggest group in the world... the branding is not "all over the place" imo, especially not now. they endorse big brands that align with them, and that can pay for them of course, but it was also said bh/bts discounted their ad fee during the pandemic so make of that what you will.

    who's your favorite artist?

  • You think too much about BTS's haters opinion. When haters can't brag about their's fav achievement over BTS achievement, shamelessly they will mock BTS lack of endorsement of luxurious brands.


    First and foremost, BTS are musician who dedicate most of their time and energy to improve their artistic crafts.

    Second, BTS are humble and kind human being who have strong social consciousness. All their activities reflects those characters, including how they chose endorsements. Conclusion: BTS just want to be acknowledged as highly respected artists at global scale. Army should be proud of that.

  • You lack of awareness of BTS becomes more and more apparent everytime you open your mouth. They don't just wear expensive brands but also support small business


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    "Every time you open your mouth" Okay, you can cool it with your tone. I'm well aware they support small businesses, never said otherwise.


    I'm sure there's going to be multiple people mass quoting me but I said what I wanted to say, so.

  • "Every time you open your mouth" Okay, you can cool it with your tone. I'm well aware they support small businesses, never said otherwise.


    I'm sure there's going to be multiple people mass quoting me but I said what I wanted to say, so.

    No where did you mention about how you know that BTS support small business, instead this is the dismissive narrative you ran with cause god forbid Armys praise BTS for actually doing something meaningful and worthwhile, "Second, BTS promotes their fair share of expensive items/brands, like Samsung. The clothes they choose to wear in their personal time are worth hundreds of thousands of dollars, which is fine and great because they earned it and can wear whatever they want, but that's not exactly "down to earth" or showing "humility" on their part."

  • You think too much about BTS's haters opinion. When haters can't brag about their's fav achievement over BTS achievement, shamelessly they will mock BTS lack of endorsement of luxurious brands.


    First and foremost, BTS are musician who dedicate most of their time and energy to improve their artistic crafts.

    Second, BTS are humble and kind human being who have strong social consciousness. All their activities reflects those characters, including how they chose endorsements. Conclusion: BTS just want to be acknowledged as highly respected artists at global scale. Army should be proud of that.

    but its not just about haters. many fans say this type of stuff too which i alluded to with the "why is bh keeping them from doing xyz" quote. either way, its an interesting thing to think about from a marketing and branding standpoint. i personally don't care much what outsiders have to say about what bts is doing lol.

    who's your favorite artist?

  • I think that BTS and BH know that the majority of artists worldwide endorse luxury brands and if they want to make a difference to be more known in the home and not be labeled as arrogant or unattainable it is a wise move. I think that in the future they will support more luxury brands but we also don't know if BH wants to create its own fashion house that represents Korea.

  • The older I get, the more I am interested in household appliances and cleaning products


    So I like this


    anyone who says BTS can't get luxury endorsements is talking out of their ass


    however, trying to spin BTS's endorsements as some kind of big brained move on bighit's part is, also taking it too far. Bighit only cares about who's willing to pay the most for for an OT7 endorsement. They'll slap BTS's faces on anything if the pay is right. Their branding is all over the place. Let's not forget the massage chairs.

    I watched a clip from a Korean show that said they do consider the company ethos and image and such before signing an endorsement deal with them, although I don't know how far that goes.

    They might just do everything aside from luxury brands.

  • I agree that BH has does think of the image that they want BTS to portray but sometimes I think the output doesn't align with their plans.


    This is also not just about BTS not doing cfs for luxury brands. The fandom went into chaos over BTS endorsing milk from Indonesia if I'm not wrong(?) last year. :|

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