The Clio Awards - Creative Summit

A K-Pop Girl Group Treks Into Orbit for Sony

Le Sserafim headlines music tie-in

Fashion meets function in a new partnership between Sony and the South Korean girl group Le Sserafim

The effort sits inside Sony’s “For The Music” campaign, which seeks to boost artist collaborations across specialty content, activations, experiences and more.

Here, Sony adds a stylish twist to its noise-canceling headphones—the WH-1000XM5 and WF-1000XM5—by casting them in smoky pink. This marks the first time the electronics behemoth has added a new hue to its collection. 

Entertainment lifestyle platform HYBE America handled the campaign, which centers on a commercial featuring the group and their latest single, “Crazy.”

Riffing on sci-fi flicks, Le Sserafim members sit in individual pink pods sporting the headphones as they shuttle towards Earth. Which is pink now, of course.

Sony wanted to work with the K-pop singers—who are fresh off their 2024 VMAs performance—because of significant growth the brand is experiencing globally. The goal is to capture new audiences by reaching markets beyond the U.S., explains Crystal Huh, HYBE’s director of brands and ventures. 

“The introduction of ‘Smoky Pink’ is a great way to express individuality and style, moving away from the traditional blues, whites, and black colors of headphones,” says Huh. “The choice of color not only highlights the fashionable aspect of the headphones but also encourages self-expression and Le Sserafim’s aesthetic.”

The campaign will live on Sony’s sites and social media pages. There will also be storefront signage and billboards. Each region will localize the marketing campaign and engage with influencers.

“Le Sserafim is showing the world they’re not afraid to experiment and grow,” says Huh. “This partnership with Sony is just another exciting step in their journey.”

The Clio Awards - Creative Summit