It’s no secret that once you’re famous, corporations would want to partner with you to help promote their brand images. That’s what happened with BTS as the group was involved with multiple brand partnerships, and some are still ongoing to this day. If you see them in different advertisements throughout the day, you know why.
While some have complained about brand partnerships equal to becoming “sellouts,” it’s more of a fair partnership as their names will be known to more people. At the same time, having celebrities attached to your brand promotes trust as their credibility helps to assure their fans and potential consumers that the corporation isn’t shady or malicious.
To prove it, here are 10 of the biggest brand endorsements that BTS was and still is involved with.
10. McDonalds
Do you still remember the “BTS Meal” that McDonalds’ launched in 2021? This chicken nugget deal was part of a brand collaboration between the fast food joint and the Kpop group. BTS became brand ambassadors for McDondals in 2021 and launched a successful food collaboration. Not only did fans buy the meal, but non-BTS fans sold their crew shirts to those who wanted them.
9. Snickers
Speaking of food, BTS was also brand ambassadors for Snickers. This partnership started in August 2022 and was only available in Thailand and South Korea. The wrappers featured titles of some of the group’s notable songs such as ‘Spring Day’ and ‘Make it Right’ and were wrapped in their iconic purple sleeves. According to Dailysmart, Mars Korea CEO, Jeong Seon-woo hoped that these BTS-themed candy bars would lighten the mood due to the pandemic.
8. Coca-Cola
The Coca-Cola company has made use of Kpop stars in its advertising campaign. The same can be said for BTS. In 2018, BTS became brand ambassadors for Coca-Cola, just as BLACKPINK is an ambassador for Sprite. According to Yonhap, the group was signed to represent the coke company just in time for the Fifa World Cup in Russia that year.
In 2021, Coca-Cola launched a new ad campaign in Asia called “Turn Up Your Rhythm,” where the group did a cover of the 2014 song “Jungle” by X Ambassadors. According to the Coca-Cola Company, this ad campaign is to encourage their customers to transform their day from “dull or idle” to “memorable and uplifting ones.”
7. Crocs
Crocs’ resurgence in popularity has been larger than ever before. And why not ride the wave by producing a BTS-theme product for your brand. BTS teamed up with the popular footwear brand to release the BT21 x Crocs collection. These shoes featured the cartoon characters from BTS’s Line Friends collaboration — BT21, as well as a limited edition classic clogs featuring the characters and the group’s signature colors. This collaboration is still ongoing so grab a pair while you still can.
6. Puma
Speaking of shoes, BTS’s first footwear collaboration was with Puma in 2015 before they became popular in the west. Since then, they’ve been featured in advertisements that were aired in South Korea and released a handful of product collaborations such as PUMA Turin x BTS and PUMA x BTS Basket. According to AllKpop.com, Puma believed that BTS would help push the brand’s image of courage, determination, confidence, and joy to the younger generation.
5. Visit Seoul
Not only was BTS brand ambassadors for companies, but they were also ambassadors for their home country. In 2017, BTS teamed up with Visit Seoul and released a song titled “With Seoul” where they expressed their love for their country’s capital city. Their brand partnership continued in 2018 when the group released the “Live Seoul like I do” campaign, where each member showcased different activities you could do when visiting the country.
Maybe BTS could help you plan your next trip to South Korea as the borders slowly open up.
4. UNICEF
Asides from big product brands, BTS was also ambassadors for huge organizations such as UNICEF. In 2017, the group launched the “Love Myself” campaign, to help stop violence against children. This campaign raised over 4.5 billion Korean Won ($3.2 million USD) since December 2021. This is just one of the positive efforts that this K-pop group did as youth ambassadors and made an impact when it comes to important youth social issues.
3. Samsung
In 2020, BTS partnered up with Samsung to help promote their next line of phones. Forbes reports that their first collaboration with the phone company was to help connect fans gain access to their global art project that was only accessible to a few cities. Since then, they were part of multiple advertising campaigns for new products such as the Galaxy Z Flip4 and launched their BTS-themed Galaxy Buds.
BTS is probably Samsung’s biggest weapon if they want to dominate the mobile market, especially if they want to convince consumers to buy their flip phones.
2. Hyundai
2018 was also the year when BTS partnered up with Hyundai to promote its various vehicles. In their first brand endorsement campaign, the group promoted Hyundai’s flagship SUV at the Los Angeles Auto Show. Later in 2020, the group was part of Hyundai’s “sustainable earth” campaign by promoting their electric cars during the 2020 Grammy Awards. It seems like their partnership isn’t likely to stop.
In 2022, Hyundai launched its “Goal of the Century” campaign. The group released a remastered version of their song “Yet to Come” as their campaign theme. The goal was to promote Hyundai’s mission for sustainability, just in time for the 2022 Fifa World Cup.
1. Louis Vuitton
No brand endorsement is complete until you have signed up for a luxury brand. That’s exactly what happened in 2021 when BTS signed to be Louis Vuitton’s House Ambassadors. According to their announcement on Instagram, they were signed due to their “positive influence.” In that same year, BTS was featured during the Louis Vuitton’s Men’s Fall Winter 2021 Fashion Show, where members wore the brand’s newest designs by Virgil Abloh.
BTS has been involved with multiple brand endorsements in the past and will continue to sign up with new companies in hopes to maintain their relevancy. At the same time, it’s to help cooperate to send a positive message to their followers and consumers.
