Samyang Group X Park Jung-min's "New Melo" Ep. 2: Always Looking at You — Brand and Concept Analysis and Key Points for Fans
Ep. 2 of Samyang Group's latest campaign series, "New Melo," has garnered attention for actor Park Jung-min's delicate performance and heartwarming visuals. Despite its short duration, the commercial stands out for its emotional connection with consumers, conveying the brand's values (trust, sincerity, and everyday warmth) through storytelling. This post summarizes the brand positioning and campaign concept, video direction and sound, filming locations and sets, styling, hair, and makeup, NGs and behind-the-scenes footage, and highlights worth watching for global fans.
1. Brand Positioning: "Everyday Sincerity" and "Trust"
Samyang Group has consistently emphasized "authenticity" and a "family-friendly image" in the food and lifestyle sectors. This melodrama campaign goes beyond simple product advertising and aims to foster an "emotional connection between the brand and consumers." The phrase, "I always look at you," functions as a metaphorical device to express the brand's unwavering quality and consistent attention to consumers. Ultimately, the ad aims to strengthen brand trust by showcasing heartwarming moments of life through the product.
2. Concept and Storytelling: Expansion of Small Moments
Ep. 2 amplifies emotions by expanding on a single scene from everyday life. The narrative structure is simple: small actions (food preparation, sharing, facial expressions) → Park Jung-min's subtle facial expressions and reactions → culminating in the brand message. This micro-storytelling elicits a strong emotional response despite its short duration, immersing viewers in the "small, relatable moments" on screen. The melodramatic tone is maintained through understated narration, sound, and visual direction.
3. Background Music (BGM) and Sound Design
The music in the ad shapes the emotional arc. Ep. 2 likely emphasizes reverberation and lingering impact by adding soft string pads to a soothing piano arpeggio or acoustic guitar tone. Furthermore, the blending of Foley effects, such as the clatter of cutlery, plates, and ambient sounds, enhances the "realism of the scene," and the sound details in tasting and reaction scenes serve as a device to create climaxes. Park Jung-min's subtle vocalizations, such as sighs, laughter, and whispers, are appropriately blended with the music to naturally convey emotional transitions.
4. Filming Locations and Set Design
The video likely took place in a warm, indoor living space or a small cafe-style set. The color palette, unified by cream, wood, and soft brown, creates a "comfortable home" atmosphere, and the lighting is soft, gently expressing skin tones and food textures. The camera work balances long shots and close-ups to capture both the narrative and details (food textures, facial expression changes) of the scene.
5. Styling, Hair, and Makeup — Emphasizing Natural Everyday Life
Park Jung-min's styling reflects the ad's empathy strategy. The understated, everyday look (knitwear, shirts, and light outerwear) and natural hair and makeup create a "neighborly intimacy." The makeup focuses on natural skin expression, with subtle emphasis on the eyes and lips to clearly portray the emotional arc on screen. The styling is designed to be practical and easily recreated, making it easy for fans to emulate the fashion and makeup.
6. NGs, Reshoots, and On-Set Stories
Given the filming's many scenes involving food and emotions, NGs are expected to be frequent. For example, in scenes featuring hot food, an actor's overreaction or stiff expression may have necessitated a retake. Furthermore, slight misalignments in the positioning of props (plates and spoons) or lighting reflections can lead to retakes. Conversely, Park Jung-min's natural laughter and impromptu ad-libs during these NGs create realistic moments that fans will particularly enjoy in the making-of. To maintain the appearance of the food, the production team often works with the props team to fine-tune details right up to the last minute.
7. Key Points to Watch for Global Fans
Message Interpretation: Read the phrase "unchanging" in the context of the brand's quality, responsibility, and sincerity.
Sound Details: Listen carefully to how Foley (spoons, soup, breathing, etc.) contribute to emotional delivery.
Acting Points: Capture Park Jung-min's gaze and subtle facial expressions frame by frame and expand into acting analysis content.
Style Reproduction: Analyzing the daily look in the advertisement with stills and creating a fan style guide will resonate well.
Making Check: Check the brand's official channel for making-of videos to gain more behind-the-scenes insight through NG and ad-lib scenes.
8. Marketing Significance and Scalability
Samyang Group's Melo campaign aims to build a "brand narrative" beyond product-centric advertising. Continuous storytelling in an episodic format allows consumers to form a lasting emotional connection with the brand. Furthermore, actor-centric emotional advertising can be seen as a strategy that considers campaign scalability, as it facilitates the spread of user-generated content (UGC) such as fan covers, reactions, and stills on social media.
Conclusion
Ep. 2 of "Samyang Group X Park Jung-min" effectively conveyed the brand's core values through its short but sophisticated directing and subtle emotional expression. Global fans can reinterpret the video's music, acting, and style into their own content, expanding it into covers, reviews, and style guides.