NewJeans' rise since their debut in 2022 has been stratospheric, earning them a level of bargaining agency that brands seem to be unable to contest, even amidst their feud with agency HYBE.
In a recently surfaced Calvin Klein campaign, the clothing brand seems to have scrubbed all promotional materials of the "NewJeans" branding.
The girls of HYBE's NewJeans unilaterally announced their plans to depart from the company's subsidiary label, ADOR, at a press conference in November.
In the months since, members of the group —Minji, Hanni, Danielle, Haerin, and Hyein — and HYBE have been caught in a contentious legal feud, with the company issuing injunctions preventing the girls from pursuing independent advertising contracts.
The orders, however, haven't prevented the girls from opening up an Instagram account unaffiliated with HYBE (@jeanzforfree), pursuing promotional activities as a group, and asking fans for new group name suggestions.
Brands, including Calvin Klein, also seem willing to bend to the whims of the quintet, in exchange for continued partnership.
An ad, recently surfaced on the Chinese social media Weibo, notably omits the group's "NewJeans" branding. It's not yet clear if the campaign will be officially launched on other Calvin Klein socials.
Instead, the brand pointedly introduces the singer-turned-models by their names, seemingly side-stepping, at best -- or ignoring altogether, at worst -- HYBE's injunctions.
The members signed on as ambassadors for Calvin Klein for its fall 2024 season, launching their first campaign last September, which earned $554,000 in Media Impact Value with a single placement, according to LaunchMetrics.
After just 48 hours, the campaign earned an estimated $3.1 million in MIV.
The girls of NewJeans' contract situation remains murky, as its members make the staunch decision to omit their group name, including a January 2025 editorial shoot of Vogue, which simply featured the girls' names.
What is clear: despite multiple warnings from HYBE amidst the wait for the final decision on the group's contract termination, the girls seemed determined to surge ahead as a group, under the moniker "NewJeans" or otherwise.
ADOR clarified in a statement that the debacle will take time to settle in court.
"The final ruling on the 'confirmation of exclusive contract validity' lawsuit filed by ADOR in December last year may take considerable time," the label said, in a statement released on January 13.
"We have applied for this injunction to urgently prevent the current confusion."
