The snack that the "visual geniuses" of Stray Kids eat on November 11
"Why is November 11th called Pepero Day in Korea?"
In Korea, there is a particular snack that people eagerly look forward to when November 11th arrives: **PEPERO**.
November 11th is known in Korea as "PEPERO Day," a day for expressing one's feelings by gifting PEPERO to cherished people—such as friends, significant others, and family members.
Now, ahead of PEPERO Day, a campaign has been unveiled that connects this unique Korean cultural tradition with **K-Pop and music**.
It is the **‘November 11th’ Digital Film** featuring a collaboration between Stray Kids and PEPERO.
This campaign goes a step beyond simply featuring popular idols as advertising models. By utilizing the digital single **‘November 11th’**—created in collaboration with Stray Kids—as the campaign's core content, it introduces the Korean culture of PEPERO Day to international consumers through music. Lotte Wellfood describes this project as part of its global cultural marketing strategy.
## Official YouTube Video
You can watch the Stray Kids X PEPERO **‘November 11th’ Digital Film** in the video below.
[Stray Kids X PEPERO ‘November 11th’ Digital Film Official YouTube Shorts]
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## Why is the collaboration between Stray Kids and PEPERO so special?
To understand this campaign, it is important to first note that **Stray Kids serves as the global ambassador for PEPERO**. The collaboration between Lotte Wellfood and Stray Kids has been ongoing since last year; this time, they have expanded "Pepero Day" beyond a simple product promotion into a **global campaign that fuses music and culture**.
From an advertising planner's perspective, this represents a significant shift.
A typical snack advertisement might simply show the product packaging and convey a message like "Enjoy the delicious taste."
However, the global market requires a different approach.
This is because the very concept of **"Pepero Day" may be unfamiliar to overseas consumers**.
To bridge this gap, the brand is using the global K-pop group Stray Kids to naturally connect Pepero with the significance of November 11th.
## "November 11th" Is More Than Just an Ad Jingle
The most interesting aspect of this campaign is that **the music created for the advertisement has evolved into a standalone piece of content**.
The digital single **"November 11th,"** released on September 10, 2026, launched simultaneously on music platforms both in Korea and abroad.
Notably, Stray Kids member **HAN** personally participated in writing the lyrics and composing the music.
The song features a refreshing band sound that captures the moment of conveying one's feelings to a loved one through Pepero. In other words, rather than directly explaining the snack's taste or product features, it uses music to express **"the moment of sharing one's heart with someone."**
This lies at the heart of the Pepero campaign.
**Pepero → Gift → Moment of sharing feelings → Music → Stray Kids**
The brand has successfully linked the emotions it wishes to convey into a single piece of content.
## What Is Korea's Pepero Day?
If you are a K-pop fan, understanding **Pepero Day** will help you fully appreciate this advertisement. In Korea, **November 11th** is known as "Pepero Day."
The occasion originated from the visual resemblance between the long, thin Pepero snack sticks and the number "11"; it has since become a widely established tradition of gifting Pepero to close friends and loved ones.
Every November, you can easily find Pepero Day-themed products and gift packages in Korean convenience stores and supermarkets.
What matters most is that this tradition is not merely about **"a day for eating snacks."**
The core message the brand emphasizes is **conveying sentiments—such as love, friendship, and gratitude—that are often difficult to express in daily life, through the act of giving a gift.**
Therefore, the title "November 11th" signifies more than just a date on the calendar; it embodies the brand's vision of the day as **a special occasion for sharing one's heart.**
## Why Does Pepero Leverage K-Pop?
This is where an interesting strategy in Korean advertising comes into play.
While Pepero is a long-established brand in Korea, the challenge for global consumers is that the brand needs to introduce **the culture of gifting Pepero itself**, rather than just focusing on the product's name or flavor.
However, K-Pop already boasts a massive global fanbase.
By featuring Stray Kids, the brand can spark interest by highlighting **"a special Korean day introduced by Stray Kids"** before diving into a product explanation like "What is Pepero?"
From an advertising strategist's perspective, this can be viewed as **brand expansion through cultural content.**
Notably, Lotte Wellfood expanded its global Pepero Day campaign from 15 regions in 2023 to 35 regions in 2024, and reported that Pepero export sales reached approximately 87 billion KRW last year—a roughly 25% increase from the previous year.
In other words, Pepero serves as an example of a brand moving beyond being a simple Korean snack to **expanding its presence overseas in tandem with K-Culture**.
## What role does Stray Kids play in the advertisement?
In this campaign, Stray Kids plays a role that goes far beyond that of typical advertising models.
In standard advertisements, models are often simply shown holding or eating the product.
However, in this campaign, **Stray Kids' music itself takes center stage** as the core of the brand content.
This ensures that fans do not view the advertisement merely as an "ad."
By listening to their favorite artists' new music, watching the videos, and sharing them on social media, fans naturally engage with the Pepero brand.
This is a powerful advantage of global marketing that leverages K-Pop.
It creates a structure where **fandom interest shifts to interest in the content, which then leads to a brand experience**.
### If you are a K-Pop fan, pay attention to the music in the ad
When watching this video, it is more enjoyable to look beyond the members' visuals or performances and observe **how the music connects with the brand's message**.
In particular, since member HAN participated in writing and composing the song, Stray Kids' unique musical style is naturally infused into the campaign.
From an advertising planner's perspective, this is a highly effective approach.
This is because, rather than the brand forcing a message upon the audience, **the artist expresses the emotions the brand wishes to convey using their own language and music**.
## Why does an ad released in September talk about November 11th?
There is a marketing strategy behind this as well.
The digital single was released on September 10th, and the upcoming "Digital Film" incorporates a teaser message stating it is **scheduled for release on September 18th at 11:11 AM (KST)**. In other words, rather than making fans wait until the actual Pepero Day on November 11, this can be viewed as a **long-term campaign designed to build anticipation and interest over several months**.
In particular, leveraging the specific time of "11:11" serves as a strategy to repeatedly link the number 11 with the brand.
Weaving dates, times, music, and artists into a single narrative makes the campaign far more memorable than a standard advertisement for a new product.
## Key Takeaways
The Stray Kids x PEPERO **"November 11th" digital film** stands as a prime example of **global cultural marketing that blends K-Pop with Pepero Day**, a unique Korean holiday.
Here is a summary of the key elements:
**PEPERO + Stray Kids
→ "November 11th" digital single
→ A culture of sharing feelings
→ K-Pop content
→ Connecting with global consumers**
A crucial aspect of this campaign is that it **creates content centered on the "experience of sharing feelings" rather than simply explaining the product itself**.
For K-Pop fans, it offers fresh music and visuals featuring Stray Kids, while for international consumers, it serves as an opportunity to discover the unique Korean tradition of Pepero Day.
In this sense, the PEPERO campaign demonstrates how **K-Pop can transcend its role as a mere music genre to become a cultural bridge**, sharing Korean food, holidays, and lifestyles with the world.
The next time you watch a Korean advertisement, try going beyond the question "What product is being advertised?" and ask yourself, **"What aspect of Korean culture is this ad trying to introduce to the world?"**
By doing so, you can discover—much like in the Stray Kids and PEPERO "November 11th" campaign—just how engagingly Korean culture and global K-Pop marketing intersect, even within a short digital advertisement. 💕💕
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