'Cha Eun-woo and Mi-yeon didn’t work'... Ultimately, the 67-year-old chairman stepped in directly, creating a buzz with a surprising turnaround. Amid a crisis that even celebrity models couldn't stop, the chairman stood in front of the camera himself. Remarkably, the result was 'a big hit.'
On the 14th, EBS's entertainment program 'Neighbor's Millionaire' revealed that Jo Woong-rae, chairman of a soju company, took on the role of an advertisement model to overcome a severe management crisis during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Chairman Jo said, 'At that time, I was really desperate,' and 'I tried to hire well-known models. I used famous celebrities like Cha Eun-woo and Mi-yeon, but it didn’t work,' noting that there was less reaction than expected. In fact, there was no effect.
Ultimately, he made a decision. 'I may not be a figure, but I couldn’t continue like this. So, I stepped in myself,' he explained the background of filming a promotional video as a self-model. Unexpectedly, the video received millions of views online, garnering a heated response.
Chairman Jo said, 'At first, when I said I would shoot the video, my wife scolded me. She said it was embarrassing,' but added with a smile, 'After the video went up and hit 3 million views, my wife immediately forgave me.'
Upon hearing this, Seo Jang-hoon joked, 'Generally, chairmen are reluctant to step in themselves, but you seem to have a flair, chairman.' Chairman Jo responded cheerfully, 'I am 67 years old this year. Still, I’m performing better than most celebrities as a top model.' He continued, 'Nowadays, hiring famous models is really expensive. By stepping in myself, I saved on modeling fees and the effect was great. The company didn’t even pay extra,' he added with a laugh.
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