On December 9, a topic titled “QWER’s viral marketing tactic is so shitty” was posted on the Korean forum Pann Nate, attracting over 110,000 views.
The topic included various headlines and topics published in Korean media and online platforms, all comparing aespa’s Karina to QWER member Chodan.
In particular, some titles include: “Karina and Chodan’s two-shot video”, “Who won between Karina VS Chodan…?”, “Chodan survived next to Karina” and so on.
“They’ve been posting topics like this on every forum, and even YouTube and Instagram are full of videos comparing them,” the author also said about the topic, adding: “They are trying to fire Karina to push their member through negative virality.”
Additionally, the topic also garnered several copy-and-paste comments insulting Karina and her fandom, while simultaneously inserting Chodan into the content and calling the latter a younger, more perfect counterpart to Karina.
Netizens who saw the topic mostly expressed agreement, criticizing QWER for their unfair marketing. Below are some comments from netizens:
- Karina being compared to that camgirl is rude to Karina
- It is obvious that viral marketing increases mentions of Chodan. Ugh, the QWER agency has such dirty hands
- They have been constantly using this disgusting marketing since their debut LOL
- Is this company burning 1.4 billion on this type of marketing?
- The way they exploit Karina’s fame is damn disgusting
Source: Pan Nate
