Are advertisers cooling on Yu-na?

By Kim Tong-hyung

Figure-skating megastar Kim Yu-na could be facing an unpleasant split after a long and happy relationship ― with her corporate sponsors.

The Vancouver Olympic gold medalist has been hogging the headlines here following the ill-managed departure of her long-time coach, and it remains to be seen whether some of her sponsors will follow Brian Orser out of the door.

Kim, 20, has been successfully using her achievements on ice to advance herself as a brand. According to Forbes, a U.S. business magazine, Kim’s earnings of $9.7 million last year made her the world’s fifth highest-paid female athlete, following tennis standouts Maria Sharapova and Serena and Venus Williams, and competitive driver Danica Patrick.

Kim’s earnings power was based on a wealth of endorsements with leading Korean companies such as Samsung Electronics, Hyundai Motor, KB Financial and Maeil Dairies and international blue-chippers like Nike.

However, a number of these companies appear to be put off by Kim’s ugly split with Orser, who just a while ago was mentioned as the country’s most popular foreigner since football super-coach Guus Hiddink, and are considering letting the contracts lapse when they come up for renewal.

Samsung had featured both Kim and Orser in a series of cheeky television commercials for its “Hauzen” air conditioners, including the now-ironic clip of them singing and dancing to The Archies’ “Sugar, Sugar.” The commercials have since been yanked off the air, although Samsung says this has more to do with the high-demand season for air conditioners being over than the feud between Kim and Orser.

Kim had also appeared in the commercials for Samsung’s “Omnia” series of smartphones, but with the company now concentrating its marketing efforts on its newer Galaxy handsets, Kim isn’t featured in any Samsung television advertisements for the time being.

Kim’s endorsement deal with KB Financial Group expired after July, while her contract with Maeil Dairies ends at the end of this month. Hyundai Motor has Kim signed up to the end of the year, but so far, none of these companies have said outright they will continue their sponsorship of the figure skater.

“We will decide whether to renew our contract with Kim soon. It’s definitely a hard decision since Kim has been featured in most of our main products in milk and yoghurts,” said a Maeil Dairies spokesman.

However, an official from fashion brand Kolon, which has a two-year contract with Kim that expires in February, downplayed the concerns over Kim’s likability.

“Since we hired Kim as our main model, the sales of our women’s clothing line, Qua, have been growing dramatically. We are observing the situation with Kim like other sponsors, but there are many people helping her right now and we believe time will take care of many things,” she said.

Although Kim’s sponsors are maintaining a wait-and-see approach over the fallout of her feud with Orser, perhaps the bigger reason that has them apprehensive about sticking with the figure skater is that her value as a corporate spokesperson may have peaked already.

Since the end of the Vancouver Winter Games, when she dominated the women’s singles competition without allowing a moment of suspense, sources close to Kim have been saying that she might opt to exit from international competition prematurely to pursue other interests such as a professional skater or an entertainer.

Although Kim had denied such speculation, she has already moved to cut her workload significantly, skipping this year’s Grand Prix season and participating only in the World Championships.

“If Kim retires from competitive skating and decides to ‘go pro,’ which means appearing in ice shows and other commercial events instead of the world championships and Olympics, her value as an advertising model will likely decline visibly. And since sponsors are paying her a lot more than others now, they have to consider the possibilities of diminishing returns,” said an official from a Seoul-based advertising firm, who didn’t want to be named.

Fighting words have been flying left and right since Kim severed her ties with Orser earlier this month, with Orser, a former Olympian himself, claiming that he had been kept in the dark about the decision until the last minute. Kim, through her agency, has expressed anger at Orser for commenting to the media about her new free skate program.

김연아, 오서와의 갈등으로 광고계 `퀸’자리 위협받나.

피겨스케이팅 슈퍼스타 김연아는 `광고퀸’으로서의 입지를 굳혀왔지만 전 코치 브라이언 오서와의 갈등으로 광고주들의 애정이 어느 정도 식어버리는 것 아니냐는 관측이 일고 있다. 애정이 조금은 식어버린 것이 아니냐 하는 관측이 일고 있다. 최근 김씨와 오서 간의 불화가 공개되면서 광고주들이 김씨와의 재계약을 꺼리고 있는 것으로 보인다.

미국 경제 전문 잡지 포브스에 따르면 김씨는 지난한 해 970만불의 수입을 올렸는데 이는 전세계 여성 스포츠 선수 중 다섯 번째로 많았다. 김씨보다 돈을 많이 번 여자선수들로는 테니스의 마리아 샤라포바와 세레나와 비너스 윌러엄스 자매 그리고 여성 카레이서 다니카 패트릭이 있을 뿐이었다.

김씨는 대부분의 수입을 삼성전자, 현대차, KB금융, 매일 유업 등 유수의 한국 대표기업을 비롯하여 나이키 등의 다국적 기업과의 광고 계약으로부터 벌어들였다. 그러나 김씨와 오서의 결별 이후 불미스러운 보도들이 잇따르면서 이중 일부의 광고주들은 김연아와 재계약을 하지 않는 방안도 고려하고 있는 것으로 보인다.