Online 'Korean Idol' Competition Supported by Three Top Pop Artists Seoul, May 21, 2007 : Cheil Communications is launching an innovative new music marketing campaign in South Korea for Samsung Electronics' MP3 player brand Yepp. The campaign builds on past branded contents efforts executed by Cheil but takes the concept one step further by allowing consumers to participate in the contents creation process online. Cheil began by partnering with songwriter and producer Si-hyuk Bang, who has penned hits for many of South Korea's top pop stars, to develop a 'guide song' around which the campaign is built. Then, collaborating with three of South Korea's most popular artists lthip hop group Epik High, RB group SG Wannabe, and ballad singer Sung Si-kyunggt Bang and the creative team produced versions of the song in three different genres. The music videos for each song, which are artistically driven but feature subtle product placement, kicked off the campaign when they are released on South Korean cable TV music channels MTV and MNET on May 4. As well as individual versions by each artist, a blended mix combining the songs from the three artists will also be released. The videos serve as a teaser to draw viewers to the Yepp website where users can participate in the key online element of the campaign. As branded entertainment, the videos will also be available for download and be spread virally online. The Korean-language website has been produced in collaboration with Pandora TV, a video sharing community with 12 million unique viewers monthly. The site contains a range of innovative features allowing visitors to participate in the creative process. The key feature is a competition dubbed the Yepp Music Tuning Awards. Users are invited to download the guide track and build on this to create their own music videos. The competition includes four categories: music video, dance performance, mimicked vocal performance, and original vocal performance. Users upload their videos onto the site, and they can be viewed and voted on by other internet users. As well as a variety of giveaways such as digital video cameras and MP3 players and monetary prizes, two winners will receive a chance to launch their career as pop star with Big Hit Entertainment, the entertainment company established by Bang in 2005. The competition runs from May 4 to June 29, with the winners to be named July 20. Winners will be ed based on internet user votes and number of views, together with panel of judges from Pandora TV and Samsung Electronics. Another unique feature of the campaign website is a 'Music Cocktail' program where users can add various effects to the 'guide song' using a clever three track recording feature. Internet users can then download their customized song to their MP3 player or mobile phone and set it as their bell sound. To view the campaign sites, please visit www.yepp.co.kr or http://show.pandora.tv/event/yepp/. 'The idea of this campaign is to let ordinary Internet users participate, interact and create branded contents that have been initiated by the brand. Using this UCC interface, would be musicians at home can collaborate with professionals to create their own songs and share them via the internet,' said Sang-geun Lee, the Cheil account executive responsible for the campaign. 'This as a new kind of user created contents and has been dubbed 'proteur created contents PCC in Korea because it combines the creativity of pros and amateurs.'