[비즈한국] Advertising or promotional models must be able to garner affection to persuade people. They should also maintain a good reputation, image, and brand effect. Whether it is a public institution or a private company, they become imprinted on people's minds thanks to eye-catching advertising or promotional models. Thus, using idol groups as advertising models has now gone beyond a trend to be considered the ultimate marketing tool. Virtual idols, in particular, are drawing even more attention precisely because they are not human.
Products from a collaboration between the virtual idol group ‘PLAVE’ and Pepero sold out, leading to the release of secondary products. The virtual girl group ‘ISEGYE IDOL’ appeared as an advertising model for a braised spicy chicken set and drove strong sales. Virtual artist ‘Naevis’ became the ambassador for Seoul Design 2024 and a campaign model for Chilsung Cider, while the 11-member generative AI girl group ‘Eternity’ served as ambassadors for the Busan International Short Film Festival.
The increasing number of cases where virtual idols are hired as models is due to the significant interest they receive from people in their teens and 20s. The freshness and curiosity surrounding virtual idols drive this attention. The application of cutting-edge technology also seems to play a part. PLAVE, which claims to be South Korea’s first virtual boy group, is based on the 3D graphics technology ‘Unreal Engine.’ It can express detailed facial expressions, gestures, and even emotions in real-time. By basing their appearance on animation-style illustrations, they add a sense of friendliness. This effectively reinforces the feeling of a comic book protagonist while establishing their clear identity as virtual characters.
Naevis provides natural speech through an AI voice, while boasting a surreal visual for its appearance and movements. It is said that the goal was to create a feeling more realistic than a human. Eternity, which markets itself as the world’s first K-pop 11-member AI idol group, is based on the generative AI solution ‘DEEP REAL LIVE.’ It combines an AI-generated face with a real human body. A planned idol project met generative AI to create the characters fans desire. They have managed to shed the stigma of being "plastic surgery idols," and they are receiving attention for their future potential.
ISEGYE IDOL has increased its buzz by being based on the metaverse. In a metaverse space, a variety of activities can take place. Integrating new technology not only provides differentiation but also increases efficiency by reducing production and operation costs. As AI technology advances, the speed and volume of learning increase, and the potential for them to operate more naturally and communicate with global fans continues to grow.
These are not the only reasons why people are interested in virtual idols. They are not merely characters. The third mini-album ‘Caligo Pt.1,’ released by PLAVE on the 3rd, exceeded 1.03 million copies in its first week of sales. It has only been two years since they recorded 27,000 copies in first-week sales with their 2022 debut album. This is a first for a boy group in 2025 and the highest among virtual idol records. Furthermore, all five songs on the album lined up from 1st to 5th place on music charts. They also surpassed 1 billion cumulative streams across all released tracks, earning them a spot in Melon’s 'Billions Club.' They are consecutively hitting "career highs."
This shows that their fandom is firmly established. Above all, it is because people like their music. It is because the musical level is satisfactory.
The change in how music is consumed has played a role here. Fans have no aversion to the marketing that highlights PLAVE members as "self-producing idols" who write, compose, and produce their own music. Generation Z does not care who actually made the music. If the satisfaction is high when enjoying cultural tastes and music, it does not matter if the idol is not a real human. The fact that they consistently present music that fans love in terms of quality and satisfaction has been the key.
It is often said that agencies like virtual idols because they do not cause "scandals," but they also demonstrate new musical possibilities in that the saved costs—compared to human idols—can be intensively invested in music. Therefore, future virtual idols should focus on going beyond music to reflect the lives of their fans and continue communication that fosters mutual growth.
The writer Kim Heon-sik has been walking or navigating through the forest of pop culture phenomena since his 20s, with the expectation that there is a way to make the world a better place through culture. He continues to pursue this same path in the 21st century, an era of AI and quantum computing.