The Monash University Korean Studies Research Hub is proud to present:
The Melbourne Metropolitan Korean Studies Seminar Series Seminar 7
Please register here
Assoc. Prof. Roald Maliangkay (ANU)
Monday September 6, 5-6 PM AEST
'When Artists Become the Product Placed: K-pop in Korean Commercials'
Abstract
Until they began to be packaged for replay in the 1990s, music videos were created to sell a song and artist. The images were hard to forget and became the immediate connotation of the songs, often eclipsing their lyrics’ original intent. Because audiences learn how to interpret musical clues, however, it does not matter whether the original intent of a particular piece of music bears any relation to the medium or narrative in which it is newly embedded. But when it is used in a movie viewed by people other than the intended audience, music can disrupt. Where its purpose is to promote, as in commercials, music must therefore align well with its target audience. Claudia Bullerjahn (2006) identifies three key features of the use of music in television commercials that all rely on this alignment: motivation, opportunity, and ability. While the first and second features relate to the use of music to respectively attract and convey information, the third captures the use of music to help the target audience digest the message. But how do these features play out in TV commercials in South Korea, where celebrities, including K-pop idols, dominate the advertising world? Might a celebrity not distract the target audience from processing the commercial message embedded? Do the images of celebrities correspond with the commercials’ target audience? Focusing on the commercials and K-pop idols voted respectively most memorable and liked in nationwide surveys, in this talk I explore the combined use of music and K-pop idols in South Korean commercials since 2009 and examine how they have ensured the success of marketing campaigns.
Bio
Roald Maliangkay is Associate Professor of Korean Studies at the Australian National University. Fascinated by the factors driving fandom, the mechanics of cultural policy, and the convergence of major cultural phenomena, he analyses the history of Korean entertainment.
For any questions, please contact Ms Soyeon Kim:
Soyeon.kim@monash.edu 