The encyclopedia · Advertising & PR · Marketing decision · 2025
Three luxury houses pulled Jun Ji-hyun's China ads within days of her drama backlash
Backlash over her new drama made La Mer, Louis Vuitton and PIAGET delete Jun Ji-hyun's China ads within days — three contracts, one weekend, no statements.
La Mer · Louis Vuitton · PIAGET · Jun Ji-hyun (actress) · 2025-09-21
What happened
Jun Ji-hyun, one of Korea's best-known actresses, held active endorsements from three international houses in mainland China: skincare brand La Mer, fashion house Louis Vuitton and jeweller PIAGET. The trio of contracts made her one of the most visible Korean faces in the market.
In September 2025 her new Netflix drama 《暴风圈》 drew sharp criticism from Chinese viewers, who called parts of it insulting to China. The topic trended on Weibo and viewers demanded her brands cut ties.
By September 21 the brands had moved: La Mer's official Weibo deleted every post featuring her, Louis Vuitton's official Weibo did the same, and PIAGET removed her advertising content. The drama's Douban rating slid from above 7 to 4.2 as the backlash ran its course.
None of the houses issued a statement — the deletions were the severance, the same silent tactic Dior had used with its Vietnamese ambassador months earlier. Three contracts, each priced for a flagship China market, ended within days of each other over the reception of one drama.
Why it happened
- The brands shared no announcement, so there was nothing to defend: a deleted post says less than a press release and is harder to argue with.
- Her value in China rested on local sentiment, so one Weibo backlash made three separate contracts the same decision — none of them could stay while the others left.
- The trigger was a work product, not a personal scandal: the risk a house takes on a face is inseparable from everything that face appears in next.
- Speed mattered — every hour a post stayed up read as a position, so the deletions happened in days, not weeks.
The lesson
A star's value in one market can die with the reception of a single work: three houses deleted Jun Ji-hyun's China ads within days, with no statement and no appeal.
Sources
- Zaobao — La Mer and Louis Vuitton delete Jun Ji-hyun posts on official Weibo as backlash spreads, 21 Sep 2025
- Zaobao — PIAGET removes her ad content; Douban rating falls to 4.2, 21 Sep 2025
- Global Times via ifeng — multiple international brand ads pulled as drama controversy continues, 24 Sep 2025
spotted an error? The club wants to know.
More like this
Prada cut Kim Soo-hyun "at the headquarters level" — days after allegations broke
Clarins named Jin Chen its makeup ambassador the day before her hit-and-run exploded
Swatch ran a 'slanted eye' ad, apologized in a day — resale prices fell anyway
Somewhere, someone solved the problem this company failed at. 2nd Opinion →
Comments · 0
Sign in to join the comments.