A sanitary pad advertisement has garnered mixed reactions after being posted on Facebook.
South Korean star Seo Kang Joon is a celebrity ambassador for Secret Day feminine hygiene products.
In the ad, he is seen pouting with his index finger in his mouth, beside packages of pads from the South Korean company.
Since Watsons Singapore posted an image of the ad on its Facebook page on June 3, it has received more than 500 reactions.
Reactions from Facebook users ranged from puzzled to amused.
“Why is a man endorsing this… smh (shaking my head),” commented Facebook user Amaritz Mishra.
Another user, He YuYing, asked: “Is this Korean guy wondering, is he going to use it because he looks like a girl?”
While some ridiculed the ad, others had no problem with a man endorsing a feminine hygiene product.
Some even swooned over their idol – and clearly didn’t care what product he was promoting.
“OH my god! SEO KANG JOON for sanitary pad ad? How come I didn’t know? It looks weird… but cute,” commented Facebook user Lynette JW.
Seo, 22, recently starred in the romantic drama series Cheese In The Trap. He is also a member of 5urprise, a five-member pop idol group.
Despite the fuss online, he is not the first male celebrity to endorse a feminine hygiene product.
Taiwanese star Jiro Wang has also appeared in a television advertisement for Freemore Maxi Pads.
In China, however, such endorsements may no longer be allowed, after a strict new advertising law was reportedly passed last year. People’s Daily Online reported that the new law came into effect on Sept 1, 2015.
The South China Morning Post reported in 2014 that a revised draft of China’s advertising law included new guidelines for advertisements in the mainland, and the biggest stipulation, intended to “stop false advertising”, states that celebrities must first try out products before they can promote them, or risk being fined.
This, of course, means that unless the male celebrities have actually used the sanitary pads, they cannot endorse them.
xiuhuil@sph.com.sg
