When it comes to commercial (called CF in Korea) contracts, most stars are replaced by a new, fresh face when the term comes to an end. In some cases, the company will ask the star to re-sign for another term. However, re-signing of contracts never exceeds more than two or three times for most celebrities. But then again,
Lee Hyo-lee is not just your average celebrity. After eight years -- ten if you count her FINK.L days -- she is still dubbed the "CF Queen".
The best example of Lee being a powerhouse in the CF industry is her contract with the soju brand, Like The First Time.
Lee Hyo-lee's hold on the liquor advertisement realm has not weakened after ten long years. She broke the record that she herself had set by re-signing with the company for the sixth time. A Like The First Time official said that the pop star not only raised brand awareness, but increased overall sales.
After all these years, the new and re-signing offers are still rolling in. This is even after all the plagiarism controversies over her latest album. Related officials from the advertisement market are saying there's no star that can take her place and that she's still the number one choice for most companies. If you do the math, Lee has earned over five billion won this year alone.
Currently, the singer has her toe dipped in several sectors: liquor, food, beverage, sports, home appliances, and fashion. It's hard to say how many deals she has in total because there are a number of pending contracts that haven't been officially announced. So far though, seven different contracts have been confirmed. At least two to three are almost guaranteed to be added to the list by the end of this year.
An advertisement insider shared that a star is considered to be a long-term CF model if they can pass the three year mark. However, in
Lee Hyo-lee's case, she's not only passing the eight year mark, but she's spent those eight years as one of the cream of the crop CF faces. Whether there's bad press or good press, the diva has her own unique charm that has kept her in the game for this long. He added that it's almost entertaining for liquor companies to all sit back and watch, to see how much longer she's going to stay on top.
