Recently, It has been known that virtual model Rozy made a profit of 1 billion won, which is drawing the public’s attention to this kind of industry.
Citing the advertising industry, the Kyunghyang Shinmun reported on Oct 19th that Rozy’s income reached 1 billion won this year. Rozy is gaining popularity as a “blue chip” in the advertisement business. Rozy became a hot topic for the first time when she appeared in an advertisement for an insurance company called Shinhan Life. It surprised everyone that the woman who showed off her dancing skills was not a real person. Since then, she has been active in various fields such as Amore Pacific, Martine Golf, Chevrolet Electric Vehicles, Jill By Jillstuart... She is also an influencer with more than 100,000 Instagram followers.
Virtual models are not only popular in Korea. Lil Miquela – an American virtual human – is a singer, YouTuber and model. She is working as a model for luxury brands including Chanel, Prada and Louis Vuitton. She earned 13 billion won in 2020 alone. Imma, a Japanese virtual human, has been active as an advertising model for IKEA, Puma and Amazon. In 2020, she made a profit of 700 million won.
What is the reason for the ongoing popularity of virtual humans? An official explained, “We can accurately implement the brand image we want.” Another advantage is that marketing can be customized without time and space constraints. Not only that, you are also able to avoid controversy over the advertising model’s private life. An advertisement costs a lot of money, so there is a high risk in case of scandal. However, the virtual models do not cause any problems which affect the advertising process.”
However, the official added that it would be a complementary relationship rather than replacing the human model.
