"Failed, Tacky, Unintentionally"… Drinking GomPyo Wheat Beer After Eating with Sikhu-kkang

Meme and Newtro Craze... Entering an Era Where the Public Creates Content
Active Memenomics Marketing... Targeting MZ Generation Enthralled by Retro Trends

[Asia Economy Reporters Lee Seon-ae and Choi Sae-hye] It’s clear that it was a failure, yet it became a hit. No matter how many times you watch it, it looks so outdated, yet it attracted attention. Singer Rain’s song "Kkang" was a flop at the time, but nowadays, there is no song more popular than "Kkang." Companies producing products with "Kkang" in their name have sent love calls to Rain to be their model to ride the wave. The "Maxim Retro Thermos," released as a limited edition by Dongseo Foods, exudes a distinctly tacky vibe at first glance, but it sold out so quickly that it was hard to get. The meme and newtro craze that has taken over popular culture is sweeping across the entire industry. As the era of the public creating content has arrived, marketing efforts to utilize this trend are actively underway.

◆ Nongshim and Rain’s '3 Kkang a Day' = The "3 Kkang a Day" (watching Kkang three times a day), "Post-meal Kkang" (watching Kkang after meals), and so on have truly become a Kkang syndrome. As Kkang gained love as a meme (an online play culture or trending content using words, photos, videos, etc.), "mimenomics" (a portmanteau of meme and economics) has come into the spotlight.

According to industry sources on the 13th, Nongshim selected Rain as an advertising model, riding the Kkang craze that started as a meme and the simultaneous mention of Shrimp Kkang, with many netizens requesting model casting in comments. Earlier, online requests for Rain to be cast as an advertising model had been pouring in. One netizen commented, "Nongshim should immediately cast Jihoon hyung (Rain) as a model and shoot a commercial with the message that Shrimp Kkang should be watched 3 times a day," receiving much positive feedback.

Nongshim launched the "Shrimp Kkang National Challenge," inviting videos enjoying the Shrimp Kkang and Kkang trends to maximize the effect of mimenomics. They plan to use the submitted videos to create an advertisement with Rain. The idea is to make the advertisement itself a meme, inspired by the fact that the Kkang craze emerged naturally online. A Nongshim official said, "This was planned as a national participation campaign to actively communicate with consumers," adding, "We hope Shrimp Kkang will receive great love along with the '3 Kkang a Day' craze."

The industry response is also positive. It is evaluated that Nongshim is meeting the active demands of consumers through fun marketing and promotional activities. Nongshim plans to upgrade the image of its long-standing product, which will celebrate its 50th anniversary next year, to a younger and more friendly brand image, maximizing marketing effects by selecting Rain as the Shrimp Kkang model.

◆ Proven 'Mimenomics' = The term meme, introduced by evolutionary biologist Richard Dawkins in "The Selfish Gene," refers to cultural elements transmitted through imitation rather than genetic means. "Mimenomics" refers to the impact of human values, rather than market principles, on economic phenomena. Companies are utilizing mimenomics as a marketing tool to maximize profits. The securities industry expects Nongshim’s second-quarter performance to rise thanks to Kkang marketing. The consensus sales estimate is expected to increase by an average of 9?15% year-on-year, and operating profit is expected to rise nearly fourfold.

Mimenomics has already produced representative success stories in the distribution and food industries. Last year, Burger King’s "Sadalla" campaign was a hot topic in the advertising market. It was a promotion for the All Day King burger sold at 4,900 won, parodying the line "Sadalla" from actor Kim Young-chul, who played Kim Doo-han in the drama "Rustic Period." In the drama, Kim Young-chul shouted "Sadalla" loudly at Americans, and in the Burger King ad, he bargains the burger price with "Sadalla." It became a huge hit on YouTube and social networking services (SNS) as "Kim Doo-han-style extreme negotiation."

Having fully experienced the effect of mimenomics, Burger King later cast actor Kim Eung-soo, who played Gwak Cheol-yong in the movie "Tazza." In the ad, he stands in front of the Burger King cashier with a serious face, hesitating for a while before shouting, "Ask and double it!" When "Tazza: One Eyed Jack," the third film in the Tazza series, was released, the Gwak Cheol-yong character from the first film was reappraised, and the line "Ask and double it!" became a trending content. The ad itself was loved as a meme, surpassing 5.76 million views (Kim Young-chul ad) and 7.12 million views (Kim Eung-soo ad) on YouTube as of this date. The All Day King recorded cumulative sales of 15 million sets within 13 months of its launch.

Experts agree that marketing using memes can be a double-edged sword, requiring delicate marketing strategies. Sung Yeol-hong, dean of the Graduate School of Advertising and Public Relations at Hongik University, said, "Because consumers have a high understanding of the background and context of memes, thoughtless marketing that simply rides the trend can actually damage the brand image," emphasizing, "A deep understanding is necessary to utilize memes in marketing."

◆ New Retro Craze = Alongside memes, the other major pillar of marketing trends is undoubtedly "newtro" (new + retro). The past designs and popular products of brands, which may feel tacky, are being reinterpreted as fun brands by meeting the sensibilities of the 20s and 30s generation. Since it can target all age groups rather than a specific group, it has become a core business strategy.

Daehan Flour Milling’s 70-year-old flour brand GomPyo is creating success stories wherever it collaborates. Last month, the "GomPyo Wheat Beer," launched in partnership with convenience store CU, sold out its first production batch of 100,000 units in just three days. The cumulative sales surpassed 300,000 units within a week.

This is CU’s best performance in three years since it first introduced craft beer to the industry in 2017. The beer cans feature Daehan Flour Milling’s polar bear mascot "PyoGom" and the retro-style font and package design unique to GomPyo flour. Thanks to this, it also captured the taste of the 40s and 50s generation, who had little interest in craft beer. According to CU, 81.7% of craft beer sales last year were by the 20s and 30s generation, with only 5.6% by those in their 40s. In contrast, GomPyo Wheat Beer’s 40s customer share jumped to 14.3%.

A CU official said, "It is not only the number one in the domestic craft beer category but also ranks among the top 10 in overall domestic beer sales, standing shoulder to shoulder with formidable large manufacturers’ products." GomPyo is being commercialized across the board, including 4XR’s "GomPyo Padding," Aekyung Industry’s "GomPyo 2080 Toothpaste," and Swanicoco’s "GomPyo Flour Cushion." The somewhat tacky product design reminiscent of flour sacks is attracting the full attention of the young 20s and 30s generation.

◆ The Tacky Maxim Red Thermos = The nostalgic red bottle tumbler released by Dongseo Foods’ Maxim, the originator of "dabang coffee," is also a star of the retro craze. The "Maxim Retro Thermos," released as a limited edition in April, caused an online sell-out frenzy immediately after launch. It faithfully reproduces the thermos that Dongseo Foods used to give as a gift when buying coffee in the 1980s. The red background with a large Maxim logo is impressive, and the advertisement uses old fonts targeting the retro sensibility that the MZ generation (Millennials and Gen Z) is enthusiastic about. Actress Gong Hyo-jin, dressed in 1980s fashion, appears in a vintage-style study saying, "It feels great when you drink it in a mug," evoking nostalgia among middle-aged and older generations and fresh fun for the 20s and 30s generation. As demand for the Maxim Retro Thermos increased, Dongseo Foods resumed sales online and offline on the 28th of last month, but the product quickly dominated real-time trending search terms on various portal sites and sold out immediately.

The blue toad "Jinro Is Back" by HiteJinro, returning after 50 years, is also maintaining its hot popularity. HiteJinro’s annual target was 10 million bottles, but it exceeded the target in just 70 days. Since then, the number of people seeking Jinro Is Back rapidly increased, surpassing 50 million bottles in September last year and 100 million bottles in November. This means 5.4 bottles were sold every second.

HiteJinro explained, "The reasons for its popularity include the nostalgic 'toad' that stimulates the 50s and 60s generation, the concept of a transparent bottle, and lowering the alcohol content from 25 degrees in the past to 16.9 degrees to create a smooth and clean taste." The pop-up store "Toad House," recreating the pub atmosphere of Jinro’s heyday, attracted about 13,000 visitors during its 45-day operation and became a hot topic online. A distribution industry official said, "With the MZ generation, so-called 'fun consumers,' emerging as the main consumers, the newtro concept, which can target all age groups, will remain a core marketing strategy for companies for the time being."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.