The Korea Herald

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Jun Ji-hyun’s beer ad under suspicion of plagiarism

By Korea Herald

Published : July 14, 2014 - 17:57

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Another commercial featuring the actress Jun Ji-hyun has become the center of debate, this time regarding plagiarism. The controversy is centered on a claim that Jun’s advertisement for the beer brand Kloud resembles an ad for Gucci.

According to Dispatch, a local entertainment news agency, the Kloud and Gucci ads have similar introductions and music, and the models are styled similarly. Blake Lively is the model for the Gucci ad.

Both ads begin with Jun and Lively standing in front of a wide window that shows a nightscape of skyscrapers in a golden sparkly dress. The only difference is that Jun is folding her arms while Lively has her hands against the window.

The golden dresses in the ads also differ a tad, with a mermaid design and backless style made of sparkly material. Except for the color, even Jun and Lively’s hairstyles are similar, as both have long curly hair.

For music, both the Gucci and Kloud commercials used a tranquil piano tune which rushes in tempo as the song proceeds. The background music begins when Lively goes out spraying perfume while Jun walks through the crowd.

Gucci’s promotion with Lively, “Gucci Premier New Music,” was revealed on Aug. 16, 2013, while Jun’s controversial ad was unveiled early May this year.

Amid the growing plagiarism row, the producer of Kloud’s advertisement slammed the claims. “The Kloud ad is a pure creation. It is not plagiarized or a homage,” an official of Daehong Productions was quoted as telling Dispatch. “When the ad was filmed, (we) didn’t watch the Gucci video,” he added.

“In fact, most the composition where heroine appears at a party is similar (in both the Gucci and Kloud ads). The model wore the golden dress just because beer is gold in color,” the official said, explaining the unavoidable resemblance as many commercials have similar compositions and concepts.

Earlier, Jun came under public criticism for her appearance in a Chinese bottled water ad that labeled the name of water source as “Jang bai shan” instead of using the Korean name Mount Baekdusan.

▼Jun Ji-hyun's Kloud commercial:


▼Blake Lively's Gucci commercial:


By Ha Ji-won, Intern reporter (jiwonha@heraldcorp.com)