"Lucy, Apoki, Rozy"... Top Star Symbols, Fashion Models Enter the Era of Virtual Models

Lotte Home Shopping Lucy Front
Exclusive Contract with GS Retail Logistics
No Scandal Risk and Popular on SNS
14 Trillion Won Market by 2025

[Asia Economy Reporter Lim Chun-han] Virtual models such as ‘Lucy,’ ‘Apoki,’ and ‘Rosie’ are gaining popularity in the distribution and fashion industries. With the introduction of the metaverse (extended virtual world) concept that blurs the line between virtual and reality, virtual humans have attracted millions of social media (SNS) followers among the MZ generation (Millennials + Generation Z), gaining significant popularity. Recently, marketing campaigns featuring virtual humans have also achieved good results, leading to a series of selections as advertising models.

◆ Continuous Selection of Virtual Models = On the 10th, Lotte Home Shopping announced that following the large-scale shopping event ‘Korea Gwangclick Festival’ held in early October, it plans to prominently feature the virtual model ‘Lucy,’ developed as part of its metaverse business, in this month’s special event. Lucy has been active as an SNS influencer since February this year and has received positive responses. In particular, the promotional video of her performing the tango dance, released on YouTube during the Gwangclick Festival, surpassed 2.19 million views. Lucy is currently in discussions for collaborations as a promotional model for well-known cosmetics, fashion brands, and public enterprise campaigns. In the future, through technological advancements such as movement and voice expression, her activities are expected to expand to roles like show hosts.

Last month, Lotte Group selected Apoki, a virtual idol from Aifun Interactive, as the advertising model for its new brand slogan, ‘Renew Today, Benefit Tomorrow.’ The Apoki advertisement video released on YouTube on the 5th of last month has exceeded 910,000 views. Apoki has about 3 million followers on platforms such as YouTube and TikTok and has also released digital single tracks like ‘Get It Out’ and ‘Coming Back.’ A Lotte representative said, "We decided to collaborate because Apoki’s active communication and various challenges align with the purpose of the new slogan."

GS Retail signed an exclusive model contract with ‘Rosie,’ Korea’s first virtual influencer created by Sidus Studio X, and plans to carry out the campaign ‘Always, Anywhere, Only GS25.’ Through Rosie’s image that transcends past and present, GS25 will showcase its connection with the MZ generation and conduct eco-friendly campaigns for the future. Rosie is a 22-year-old woman whose facial features were created by combining the most preferred face shapes of the MZ generation. She also serves as an advertising model for Amorepacific’s cosmetics brand Hera and the online fashion platform W Concept.

◆ No Risk of Privacy Controversies, Leading to Expansion = The reason the industry is focusing on virtual humans as advertising models is that, unlike celebrities or influencers, they are not at risk of being involved in privacy controversies such as sexual scandals, drunk driving, or school violence. In reality, when a major scandal involving an advertising model breaks out, it can lead to boycotts and cause serious damage to sales and brand image. Virtual humans can be entirely computer-generated in all scenes, free from constraints of time and space, and are created with cutting-edge technology, which is also seen as beneficial for enhancing corporate image.

As virtual models become more common, the market size is expected to grow rapidly. According to Bloomberg, last year the virtual human market size was 2.4 trillion won, which was less than half the size of the actual human influencer market (7.6 trillion won). However, by 2025, the virtual human market is expected to reach 14 trillion won, surpassing the actual human influencer market (13 trillion won).

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