China company is being slammed for marketing unauthorized use of BTS.
China smartphone maker Bibo posted an image on SNS saying 'McDonald's, lend BTS' ahead of the launch of the new product 'Bibo V21 5G'. The public image contains a female model with a mobile phone in a purple background. Among the images, the phrase "Be There Soon" is inserted in large numbers, which emphasizes the headline "BTS" to remind you of BTS.
Moreover, McDonald's has recently released a BTS set, so the phrase 'McDonald's, lend me BTS' also creates the same illusion as using BTS as a model.
Of course, BTS has no relation to Bibo. In addition, Bibo's marketing does not have legal problems because it does not directly mention the name of BTS or disseminate false facts such as using it as a model. However, it is pointed out that there is a problem that it deliberately emphasizes BTS, which is the English notation of BTS, planting purple, which is their representative color, in the main color, or referring to McDonald's.
As the controversy arose, Bibo deleted the post.
China has been keen to catch BTS ploys earlier. In October last year, BTS received the Ben Fleet Award at the Korea-US Friendship Non-profit Korea Society annual event. "This year is meaningful for the 70th anniversary of the Korean War. I will remember the history of the hardships of the two countries and the sacrifices of many people forever. " The Chinese netizens were forced to insult the China war and boycotted it. China's large courier companies, such as Winda Wientung, have stopped shipping BTS-related products because of the severe censorship of the Korea Customs Service.
However, the New York Times and other leading overseas magazines have come up with a series of articles criticizing China's bigoted patriotism. Many articles criticizing the BTS award were deleted, and China's Ministry of Foreign Affairs also tried to suppress the situation.
Nevertheless, China streaming platform Aichi Yuku Tencent Video and others have deleted the appearance of BTS on HBO Max 'Friends: The Reunion' special broadcast. However, as BTS has become the world's most popular player for the third consecutive week in the Billboard main single chart 'Hot 100', it is showing the opportunistic idea of promoting the product by taking advantage of their popularity.