The rise of Newjeans from their debut in 2022 was stratospheric, gaining them a level of bargaining agency that the brands seem not to be able to contest, even in the midst of their feud with the Hybe agency.
In a recently emerged Calvin Klein campaign, the clothing brand seems to have deleted all the promotional materials of the “Newjeans” brand.
Hybe’s Newjeans girls have unilaterally announced their plans to start from the society’s subsidiary label, Ador, in a press conference in November.
In the following months, the members of the group – Minji, Hanni, Danielle, Haerin and Hyein – and Hybe had been captured in a controversial legal feud, with the company that issued injunctions that prevents girls from pursuing independent advertising contracts.
The orders, however, did not prevent girls from opening an Instagram account not affiliated with Hybe (@jeanzforfree), pursuing promotional activities as a group and asking fans for the suggestions of the name of new groups.
The brands, including Calvin Klein, also seem willing to bend to the whims of the quintet, in exchange for a continuous partnership.
An announcement, recently emerged on the Chinese social media Weibo, in particular omits the group “Newjeans” brand. It is not yet clear whether the campaign will be officially launched on other Calvin Klein social networks.
Calvin Klein
Calvin Klein
Instead, the brand clearly introduces the models transformed into a singer with their names, apparently side-stepping, at the best of the hypotheses-o ignor completely, in the worst case-the injunctions of Hybe.
The members signed Calvin Klein as ambassadors for his autumn 2024 season, launching their first campaign last September, which earned $ 554,000 in value for the impact of the media with a single placement, according to the launch.
After only 48 hours, the campaign gained about 3.1 million dollars in MIV.
The contractual situation of Girls of Newjeans remains dark, since its members make the strong decision to omit the name of their group, including an editorial recovery of Vogue in January 2025, which simply characterized the names of the girls.
What is clear: despite the multiple warnings from Hybe in the middle of the wait for the final decision on the termination of the group’s contract, the girls seemed determined to climb in advance as a group, under the moniker “Newjeans” or other.
Ador has clarified in a declaration that the debacle will take time to settle in court.
“The final sentence on the” confirmation of the validity of the exclusive contract “presented by Ador in December last year could take a long time,” said the label, in a declaration issued on January 13th.
“We have requested this injunction to urgently prevent current confusion.”
