[Interview] "Let's Hide the LG Logo for the First Month"... Why LG Electronics, a Home Appliance Powerhouse, Created a Girl Group

Interview with the creators of LG Electronics’ girl group AI-DOL
Hiding the brand and tapping into K-pop fandom... A counterintuitive marketing strategy hits the mark
Featuring real former trainees in music show broadcasts and dance challenges
Breaking through the low-involvement nature of home appliances, driving sales up 35%

A five-member rookie girl group performs tightly synchronized choreography. Music show hosts introduce them, and their songs are listed on Melon and Spotify. Their agency is neither SM nor HYBE, but LG Electronics. This is the story of AI-DOL, a project girl group launched last August.

AI-DOL is not a virtual idol group. Its members are real people who were selected for debut after training. Their debut song is “I WASH.” The group turns the five key features of LG Electronics’ all-in-one washer-dryer, AI WashCombo, into individual characters for each member.

What led LG Electronics to create an idol group rather than rely on the technical capabilities and specifications commonly highlighted in home appliance ads? On October 29, we spoke with Ahn Taehyun, head of LG Electronics’ Communications Team 2; Hwang Subin, a senior associate on the team; and Lee Kangil, a team leader at HSAD, who planned the project, at the LG Seoul Station Building.

LG Electronics' five-member project girl group, AI-DOL. LG Electronics

“People tend to skip washer ads”... A counterintuitive approach that hid the brand

The idea began with the nature of the washer-dryer as a product. Ahn said, “A washer-dryer is a low-involvement product that people don’t usually pay attention to unless they need one because of a breakdown, a move, a marriage, or another major life event. In an environment overflowing with content, consumers will easily hit skip if you simply emphasize the product’s features and benefits as before.”

The team needed a way to make consumers stop scrolling. After much discussion, they hit on the idea of tapping into K-pop culture, which young people are passionate about. Their approach differed from conventional home appliance advertising from the outset. In the early stages of the campaign, they carefully concealed the LG brand. They created an account for a fictional agency called AWC and used a teaser strategy, releasing member profiles and practice videos one by one. AWC stands for AI WashCombo.

Hwang said, “Traditional ads focus on conveying the brand name and product specifications, but this campaign needed to make customers curious before they became interested in the features. Approaching it as ‘brandless’ was the biggest departure from the usual playbook.”

Lee said, “Hiding the brand for roughly one-third of the campaign’s schedule is not an easy decision in a typical advertising campaign. The client actively encouraged us to conceal the brand, creating an environment where consumers could first become interested in the content itself.”

The planners of LG Electronics' five-member project girl group AI-DOL are interviewed by The Asia Business Daily at the LG Seoul Station Building on the 29th of last month. From left: Hwang Subin, senior associate on LG Electronics' Communications Team 2; Ahn Taehyun, team leader of LG Electronics' Communications Team 2; and Lee Kangil, team leader at HSAD. LG Electronics

From hiring a music video director to auditions... Borrowing the entertainment industry’s playbook

The project did more than imitate idols in concept. The production process also followed the methods of entertainment agencies. The team hired a professional choreographer to create the choreography, brought in a K-pop music video director and an audio-mixing expert, and selected the members through a process modeled on auditions. They also had to coordinate across the different working methods of the advertising and entertainment industries. The process had its share of challenges, as the two sides used different professional terminology.

Lee explained, “When we were preparing the storyboard, the music video director would provide about 20 lines of explanation for a single image, unlike the detailed scene-by-scene plans the advertising team expected. We had to reconcile different professional languages, from staffing to filming methods.”

The initial response was explosive. Singers Choi Yena, comedian Lee Sunmin, and choreographer Hyojin Choi took part in a dance challenge on Instagram Reels after the song was released ahead of the campaign. Videos related to the project, including the music video, have surpassed 32 million cumulative views. When the official ad video was released at the end of August, revealing that the project was an ad for a washer-dryer, online reactions described it as a twist.

LG Electronics’ five-member project girl group AI-DOL and its all-in-one washer-dryer, AI WashCombo. LG Electronics

“Please get them on a music show”... The group even appeared in a broadcast

The project expanded its reach by incorporating consumer feedback in real time.

Ahn said, “We hadn’t planned from the beginning to have the group appear on a music show. But when comments kept saying they wanted to see them on one, our team and the agency discussed possible ways to get them on a broadcast.”

Broadcast review rules made it difficult to perform a song containing a brand name on a formal music show stage. So, just before a commercial break during a music show, the hosts introduced the group, saying, “Here’s rookie group AI-DOL, the talk of social media,” followed by the music video ad.

Hwang said, “By quickly responding to customer feedback, we gave people the impression that this was a two-way conversation. We also created content that can be downloaded through the LG ThinQ app in response to requests to make the song available as the washer’s end-of-cycle sound.”

The real-time responses also increased the production team’s workload. Lee said, “With a typical advertising campaign, the focus shifts to managing media placements after the initial setup. But with this project, we kept producing content and incorporating feedback from July onward, at a rapid pace. The process was difficult enough that the amount of material we actually prepared was about three times what we usually produce.”

The planners of LG Electronics’ five-member project girl group AI-DOL were interviewed by The Asia Business Daily at the LG Seoul Station Building on the 29th of last month. From left: Hwang Subin, senior staff member on LG Electronics’ Communication Team 2; Ahn Taehyun, team leader of LG Electronics’ Communication Team 2; and Lee Kangil, team leader at HSAD. LG Electronics

67% of consumers say it is hard to identify products with AI... Matching members to features

There was a specific reason LG Electronics matched each of the five members with a character: “All-in-One Large Capacity” (Iyeon), “AI Time Sensing” (Moa), “AI Washing and Drying” (Seonghyeon), “Minimal Flat Design” (Heejae), and “Mini Wash” (Sua).

Hwang explained, “According to a 2025 survey by the Korea Consumer Agency, although consumers recognized the importance of AI features when buying home appliances, 67% said they found it difficult to identify products that use AI technology. Rather than simply emphasizing that the features were good, we wanted to connect with consumers through a culture they were interested in.” She added, “We matched the washer’s key features with each member’s role, like the positions within an idol group, to make them easier to remember.”

During the campaign, which ran from July to September, sales of the AI WashCombo rose 35% from the same period the previous year, showing meaningful growth.

Ahn said, “AI features in home appliances can be difficult to notice in everyday life. By communicating their value through natural content, we helped raise awareness of AI and had a positive impact on sales.”

AI-dol ad thumbnail, WashCombo image. LG Electronics.

A younger brand image... Plans to continue with follow-up content

AI-DOL has been credited with adding a fun, youthful sensibility to LG Electronics’ brand image, which had been seen as conservative and serious both within and outside the company. Executives reportedly responded positively, asking, “What’s the next step?” and “Will you create another group?”

LG Electronics plans to continue producing related content rather than end AI-DOL’s activities after a single campaign. Hwang revealed, “We’re preparing YouTube content featuring the group meeting senior idols, including Yuri of Girls’ Generation, as well as Q&A content answering customers’ questions.”

“Idol marketing” has recently been spreading across industries. OB Beer recently introduced 3pm, a four-member girl group highlighting the features of its nonalcoholic beverage Cass All Zero, while Samsung Securities launched the four-member girl group Lumina to communicate messages about finance and investing in a more approachable way. However, those groups are AI-generated virtual idols, unlike AI-DOL, whose members are real people.

LG Electronics also expressed confidence in the face of the possibility that competitors may try similar marketing. Ahn said, “Others can copy us as much as they like, but we have to keep creating something new. We will continue communicating through content that customers find interesting.”

The planners of LG Electronics’ five-member project girl group AI-DOL pose for a commemorative photo at the LG Seoul Station Building after an interview with The Asia Business Daily on the 29th of last month. (From left) Ahn Taehyeon, team leader of LG Electronics’ Communication Team 2; Kim Gyeongmi, senior professional; Hwang Subin, senior associate; and Lee Gangil, team leader at HSAD. LG Electronics.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.