Do not go gentle into that good night, old age should burn and rave at close of day; Rage, rage against the dying of the light, though wise men at their end know dark is right, because their words had forked no lightning they, do not go gentle into that good night.
HiteJinro's nonalcoholic beer ad surpasses 20 mil. views in 30 days
HiteJinro Beverage's Terra Zero / Courtesy of HiteJinro Beverage
By Jhoo Dong-chan
HiteJinro Beverage said Tuesday that its advertising campaign for Terra Zero, a nonalcoholic beer-flavored drink, has drawn more than 20 million cumulative views in about a month, while cumulative sales of the product have topped 12 million units.
The three-part campaign, released July 30, features comedian Kim Won-hoon and centers on the tagline "Why not."
The ads spread quickly across YouTube, Instagram and other online platforms, drawing roughly 40,000 combined likes, comments and clicks, the company said. Kim has become a breakout star in Korea's recent wave of hyperrealistic comedy sketches, known for absurdist, deadpan humor drawn from everyday situations.
Terra Zero reached 4 million units in canned-product sales within its first 100 days on the market before expanding into bottles, HiteJinro Beverage said. The campaign portrays the drink being consumed in a range of everyday moments — beyond the driving, pregnancy and health-focused scenarios typically associated with nonalcoholic beer — including ordinary Monday mornings and casual breaks, positioning Terra Zero as a "daily beverage."
One ad in the series, titled "Zero Worries," drew extra attention after reality intersected with its plot: Kim, known for joking about his past award-show losses, won the Best Male Entertainer award at the 5th Blue Dragon Series Awards on July 31, the day after the ad's release. Comments on the ad included viewers saying they had come on a "pilgrimage" following his win.
"We're encouraged that Terra Zero, launched this year, is resonating with consumers as a 'daily beverage' for everyday moments," a company official said. "Building on the strong response to the ad and sales growth, we will keep expanding the brand experience so Terra Zero becomes the nonalcoholic beer-flavored drink people naturally reach for."
HiteJinro Beverage said it plans to roll out a series of social media events tying Terra Zero to seasonal moments such as the start of the school semester and the September Chuseok holiday, extending the "Why not" campaign's message into more everyday scenarios.
This article was published with the assistance of generative AI and edited by The Korea Times.