Although he did not make their official debut, the last female group of Sm Entertainment, Hearts2hearts, is already sailed invitations. Among these, they include a CF agreement with the Megacaffee coffee chain, and this chain has so far published a conceptual image for their next campaign with the Girl Group.
The image in question is displayed in a format of a group chat, in which members discuss the brand and business. However, the chat screen and the emojis, who adopt a cute, pixely and y2k atmosphere, have been said that they are a bit too similar to the conceptual photos of NJZ (Newjeans) for their communication app, phoning. In fact, similar accusations were previously raised against the SM Boy Riuri group, which used the same aesthetic,
On the other hand, many Netizen have argued that while there are undoubted similarities, it is a trait to call this “plagiarism”, since Njz is not what has invented these concepts. Rather, it is more appropriate to see Njz as a “trend” of this aesthetic in K-pop.
Furthermore, many stressed that Megacaffee was the party behind the controversial image of the concept, not sm. Therefore, this is likely to be a brand business, rather than the real concept that Hearts2hearts will use.
Below are some Netizens’ comments on a topic related to the Korean forum PIG NATE, which has attracted over 90,000 views:
- They seem to have been inspired by Njz in some way, but calling him plagiarism is a little too far
- Njz is a real trendsetter if you think about it
- This is an advertisement of megacofee, not a SM release, so why do you guys criticize the group? They cannot decide the concept of announcement
- The idol industry tends to follow the tendencies and this concept is trendy right now, honestly it is not a big problem
- Call a similar plagiarism … This is a seriously annoying thing for K-pop nowadays.
