Sun Sentinel Palm Beach Edition
Subway a star of SKorean TV
US sandwich chain’s use of product placement has made it a common sight in shows
In an episode of the Korean television show “The K2,” which takes place in a world of fugitives and bodyguards, a man is being treated with a defibrillator when he enters into a dream state. On the fringe of death, he recalls taking a past love to a Subway restaurant and to a park for a picnic, where he gently feeds her a sandwich and soft drink with the Subway logo facing the camera.
The detail is not a narrative quirk.
It is a result of South Korea’s broadcasting regulations and the aggressive use of product placement in the country’s shows by Subway, the U.S. sandwich chain famous for its $5 foot-longs.
Product placement in TV shows is a reality the world over.
But South Korea’s terrestrial stations are prevented from inserting commercial breaks during programming, meaning many companies must be creative about getting their wares in front of viewers. As Korean dramas have become more popular with international audiences, global brands have pushed to be part of the action.
And no company has pushed harder than Subway, which has grown into the world’s largest fast-food chain by store count since its founding in 1965 in Bridgeport, Connecticut.
Colin Clark, the country director for Subway in South Korea, said product placements in popular dramas like “Descendants of the Sun” had a positive effect on global sales, specifically citing markets in China, Taiwan and Singapore.
“I swear to you, it was a difference between night and day — before the product placement and after the product placement — the effect it had on the customers,” said Clark, who declined to provide specific sales figures.
Subway did not provide a total of how many Korean dramas its products had appeared in, but an informal tally by The New York Times counted appearances on 17 shows. That can add up to a lot of people seeing the company’s cold cuts. Netflix, with more than 203 million worldwide members, has become a leading portal for Korean dramas. When the highly anticipated Korean drama “Sweet Home” was released on Netflix in December, 22 million viewers watched the show in its first month.
Recently, the company has faced scrutiny of its bread, which an Irish court ruled is not bread, and its tuna, which a lawsuit claimed is “anything but tuna.”
But on TV, pristinely clean Subway shops pop with bright colors and serve as the setting for business meetings, social gossip and dates for couples. Instead of cookies and tea, elderly Korean TV characters keep freshly wrapped Subway sandwiches at the ready; you never can know when an unexpected guest will drop by and crave an Italian sub. On the popular Korean drama “Crash Landing on You,” North Korean soldiers and a South Korean businesswoman find common ground through Subway sandwiches.
Product placement in Korean shows began in earnest in 2010, when South Korea’s stringent broadcasting laws eased restrictions on the practice in an effort to increase network revenues and promote Korean goods.
Other U.S. companies, like Papa John’s Pizza, use product placements in Korean dramas, but none are as ubiquitous as Subway.