When it comes to publicity, one should carefully use words, and properly speak their thoughts. Particularly celebrities, because their words can affect how a brand perform, and how themselves are valued in the market.
This time, Adidas is facing backlash from South Korean netizens, after releasing a promotional video featuring the QWER, where its members tour an Adidas store, showing and wearing various products the brand offers.
This happens because QWER, the fifth-generation K-Pop girl group under 3Y Corporation and Tamago Production, debuted in October 2023, with the single album Harmony from Discord, has been the center of controversy,
And by inking a collaboration, Adidas brand ruining itself in South Korea, at least in the eyes of its netizens.
People are trying to boycott the product.
The controversy surrounding QWER, started when its member, Siyeon, made remarks about marriage and childbirth.
During a broadcast, Siyeon was asked about the idea of getting married to have children.
"Humans are born to reproduce. It is our duty to reproduce." she commented.
"We get married to fulfill that duty of reproduction."
This very comment sparked significant online debate.
Because of this, Adidas' promotional video quickly became a hot topic online.
Many netizens expressed their frustration and disappointment with Adidas for collaborating with a group mired in controversy.
"I won’t buy Adidas anymore," said an online user. "QWER is making it big, huh? Hwaiting," said another.
"Is Adidas becoming a brand that mistreats women, too?" said another.
"Adidas’s brand reputation about to go down the drain…" commented another.
"Looks like Korea is also seeing the rise of celebrities with shady backgrounds," another user said.
"Their reputation is tanking," mocked another.
QWER group's English name is derived from the QWERTY keyboard, with Q, W, E, and R being the primary keys used in online games.
The band was formed through a YouTube series that aim to create a girl group composed of female online personalities.
And here, each member of the QWER group, had established online careers of themselves.
Chodan and Magenta, for example, were active streamers on Twitch, Hina was a popular content creator and cosplayer on TikTok, and Siyeon is a former member of the Japanese idol group NMB48.
The band's lead track "Discord" was the 5th on Spotify's "Viral 50 – Japan," and that it debuted at number 88 on YouTube Music's "Korea Weekly Top Songs," and remained on the chart for 21 weeks.
While they show promising career, South Korean netizens are known for making, and ruining, idols' careers in a snap of finger.
With their high digital literacy, they are known for having high engagement, very vocal opinions, cyber vigilantism, the ability to greatly influence public opinion, and able to quickly spread trends.
Siyeon's controversial statement is because of the discourse around birth rates in Korea.
At this time, the country is having a low birth rate crisis, where the fertility rate has dropped to a historical low of 0.72 children per woman’s lifetime. This rapid decline is considered the most drastic in human history, leading to concerns about future population shrinkage, economic growth, and productivity.
Among other reasons, wounger generations in South Korea increasingly view marriage and childbirth as nonessential, and this shift in perspective reflects broader changes in societal values and priorities.
While some acknowledged they were her own views, most criticized the idol for her thoughts but found it hard to stand a female idol with such traditional views and say them so publicly.
