Thoughts on Ad Genius Lee Tae-Baek, or…Horatio Alger Wants to Sell You Stuff

Another drama finished, another writeup for my blog. I had a big realization while watching this drama, which I’ll discuss later. As far as whether I liked it, I’m going to have to give it a mixed review.

Plot

As always, beware of spoilers and all that.

Lee Tae-Baek has only a high school education, and he lives from paycheck to paycheck as a manual laborer for a sign company. However, he is determined to break into the world of advertising, despite the uphill battle a man of his limited credentials faces.

Baek Ji-Yoon is the daughter of a chaebol president, but she has a poor relationship with her father, and wants to be an ad copywriter like her mother was. She gets an internship at a prominent agency called Geumsan Ad without any of her father’s connections. In fact, no one there even knows who her father is.

Tae-Baek and Ji-Yoon meet when Tae-Baek is one of the workers assigned to hang a large banner for Geumsan. They strike up a friendship and develop an ad campaign for Geumsan together. Ji-Yoon is hoping to be noticed for her copywriting skills, and Tae-Baek is hoping the company will hire him. They submit their campaign proposal, but when it ends up being used, the two receive no credit for it. Since they have no way to prove that the ad team didn’t come up with the same idea themselves, there’s nothing they can do.

When Tae-Baek’s boss at the sign company goes bankrupt, Tae-Baek finds a sign-maker from another neighborhood, Ma Jin-Ga, whose work is known to be especially effective at increasing his clients’ profits. When Tae-Baek challenges him to a sign-making contest and loses, Tae-Baek asks to become his protégé, so he can learn from the master. Ma reluctantly accepts.

It’s later revealed that Ma used to be a top ad man, but was blackballed from the industry for blowing the whistle on one of his clients’ products. Tae-Baek’s prodding helps him get back in the game, this time starting from the ground up. Ma, his three employees and Tae-Baek form their own small ad agency with the hopes of building themselves up into a large one. Ji-Yoon, despite interning for a competitor, supports them because of her friendship with Tae-Baek.

Meanwhile, BK Group, the chaebol run by Ji-Yoon’s father, is trying to acquire Geumsan ad, which leads to a series of tangled connections and interests.

Writing and Acting

As with many comically-toned dramas, the acting wasn’t anything to write home about. There were several actors I knew from previous dramas (see below), but their acting didn’t impress me as much here as they did in previous roles.

The writing was typical comic drama writing, and the ending felt a little too neatly wrapped-up, as is often the case. The final scene didn’t really do a whole lot for me, but maybe that’s because I was tired when I watched it.

Music

Here’s the stuff I was able to identify:

Voice Man – 차가운 커피
성시경 – 거리에서
어반자카파 – 사랑오후
E.D.E.N. – Never Cry
박성철 – 무조건
Dal*shabet – 있기 없기
Girls Day – 나를 잊지마요
Toxic – Just a Man in Love
Andy Williams – Can’t Take My Eyes Off You(Shazam said Andy Williams, but it sounded like a different singer)
Roy Orbison – In Dreams
박지윤 – 그대 그리고 사랑
Ivy – 바본가봐
Chet Baker – I Fall in Love Too Easily
Piano version of “Imagine.”
ABBA – Dancing Queen
Zebra – Black Orpheus
Susan Jacks - Evergreen
The Archies – Sugar, Sugar
Amanda Mair – Skinnarviksberget
Piano version of “Fly Me to the Moon.”
John Mayer – All We Ever Do is Say Goodbye
“You Belong to Me”
Dave Barnes – Mine to Love

Ji-Yoon’s ringtone sounded like “Loving You” by Minnie Riperton.

There were some Korean songs played on vinyl records that I couldn’t identify. It drove me nuts, especially since I kind of liked one of them.

One of the drama-specific pop songs had the repeated lyric: “Broken my love, broken my love…” It sounded like a poor translation from Korean.

English

Lots of jargon words are the same as in English, presumably because the ad industry didn’t exist in Korea before being introduced by the Western world. In fact, there were several times when the characters would use jargon, and the definition of the word would pop up on the screen. Since many of the jargon terms were English words, Korean listeners might not be able to infer the meanings.

Words: idea, standby, “oh my God,” intern, fact, poster, global brand, “new revolution,” copy, concept, creator, copywriter, “the end,” lobby, narrator, portfolio, copier, promotion, sky lounge, “thank you,” simple, “terrible idea,” view, scooter, campaign, spark, top class, “good job,” point, timed sale, “sales promotion,” “go,” character, SWOT – Strength, Weakness, Opportunity, Threat, top star casting, role model, loser, scrap, package, USP – Unique Selling Proposition, stuntman, hip-hop, marathon, full course, climbing, “you’re welcome,” “understand?”, pacemaker, main, copy, casting, prime time, “perfect!”, data, “Made by GRC,” documentary, royal family, action, “move!”, exciting, trademark, trend, sense, insider, marketing plan, global marketing, “shut up,” chandelier, win-win, synergy, healing food, positioning, homeground, line, zero, company, “bravo!”, pre-production, blue iris, pink gerbera, clary sage, marjoram, spaghetti, image match, “ready…action!”, reality, “cut!”, business partner, handling, baby lotion, story, atopic, diet, client, pitch, “are you ready?”, sample, “lotion time!”, allergy test, “coming soon,” Giant, old, gorilla, “hi!”, “I’m sorry,” gorgeous, partnership, fashion leader, trend setter, “Presentation Killer,” “Miss Gong,” “are you crazy?”, “why not?”, terroir, full-bodied, cheerleader, paradigm, antique, Dream Team, brand image, art, “Change the life, change the furniture,” same-same, recipe, equal, media group, new media, “mother’s soup,” freelance, troublemaker, “very, very good news,” zombie, crea-sumer marketing, zipper bag, love letter, data, eco-bag, laser, cocktail, aluminum, couple ring, wedding planner, Fosbury Flop, gold medal, release, target, jungle, call, camping, merit, hidden card, helmet.

Ma Jin-Ga liked using English phrases, so many of these were from him.

The taglines for several of these ad campaigns were in English too, which was an interesting phenomenon. The Geumsan employee who said two of them was played by Han Chae-Yeong, an actress who spent time living in the U.S. and presumably speaks English, but her pronunciation had a distinct Korean accent.

Hey, I Know That Person

Choi Jeong-Woo, who played Ji-Hyeon’s father in 49 Days and one of the villains in City Hunter, appears here.

Jo Hyeon-Jae, who played Gang in 49 Days and Soo-Hyeon in Three Dads, One Mom, played Addie Kang, an executive who figures prominently in the story. This is the third role I’ve seen him in where (spoiler!) he almost gets the girl but in the end doesn’t. I wonder if there’s one where he does get the girl because…come on, man! The dude needs some love! Also, it’s interesting that in 49 Days Choi Jeong-Woo played the father of the woman he was in love with, but here Choi Jeong-Woo was his father.

Han Chae-Yeong, who played Choon-Hyang from Delightful Girl Choon-Hyang plays a role here. I didn’t recognize her at first because she’s so much older here than she was in that drama. As mentioned above, she spoke a few phrases in English, and while she pronounced them fairly well, there was a distinct Korean accent.

Finally, Jang Yong, who gave great performances in Spring Day and Unexpected You, and who I also declared as my favorite Korean actor, is here as Ji-Yoon’s father. In Spring Day he was a man tormented by the past, in Unexpected You he was a father rediscovering warmth in his life thanks to the son he was reunited with, and here he was a powerful businessman who, as is always the case in these dramas, is greedy and heartless. It was interesting to see him as more of a villain here than he was in his previous roles. As always, I thought he gave the best performance of the bunch. He’s a true master.

Other Observations

The only reason I watched this drama is because of Seon-Hwa from Secret. Yep, she has a role as Tae-Baek’s younger sister. The first time they show her, she’s doing the dance to Secret’s song “Madonna” and singing part of it. Then later, she was singing “Magic” to herself. In-jokes! Ha! And if you think that’s clever, at the end of the series, her character announces her intention to join a girl group, and when asked what the name of the group is, she answers “it’s a secret.” Ha! I kid, though. It’s kind of cool when you “get” the jokes that some people wouldn’t.

She wasn’t the only K-Pop star in the series. Ah-Yeong from Dal*Shabet was also in it as an employee of President Ma. So of course, they had to have musical scenes. They had an obligatory scene with them singing in a noraebang, though for some reason Ah-Yeong didn’t sing in that one. Later the two of them were present for a sing-off event, where they fought over the microphone. Unfortunately, I didn’t recognize any of the songs anyone sang for that.

There was a guy in one scene who looked like a Korean Al Franken. I have no other comment on that, I just thought it was funny.

One of the members of Ma Jin-Ga’s team is a guy named Hassan, who, if it wasn’t obvious by the name, isn’t Korean. He was from Bangladesh, and the fact that he was a foreigner made its way into several comments. One guy laughed when he saw his picture. He was apparently a Muslim too. Not that I have anything personal against Bangladeshis, but I have fears that we see characters like this because the Korean people are slowly being inured to the Trojan horse of “diversity.”

There’s another scene where a woman talks about two foreigners in the country who are discriminated against because of the color of their skin, and how embarrassing it is for Korea that people do that. Those who know my views on race know that I support nationalism for all races, which includes the right to keep one’s nation pure and maintain a distinct identity. I think the Korean people will be happier long-term if they reject diversity and keep foreigners an extremely small minority. Not that they should be cruel to foreigners among them, just that it probably is best to keep them at an arm’s length. I hope Korea makes the right decision.

Because three of the four lead characters had previously spent time in America, they frequently talk about going back to America as if it were some eternal option. It’s further confirmation that most of the world looks at the U.S. as an open land for anyone who wants it. Not that I have a problem with Korean people in America, it’s just that I know such a view doesn’t make the America we know sustainable in the long run.

Final Thoughts

This drama was the tale of two halves for me. The first half…awesome. It focused on Tae-Baek and his dogged determination to succeed, and given that he’s such a likable character, you couldn’t help but root for him. That was exciting to me. Watching them get their business started and wondering how they’d get inspiration for ads was a plotline that kept me interested.

In the second half, Tae-Baek and Ji-Yoon’s relationship developed more, and the various love storylines became the focal point of the series…not so awesome. After a while, you see these draggy scenes with people trying to figure out what to say about how they feel and you start to think you’ve seen it a million times before. When it became like that, I started to get bored.

While watching this drama, I realized the type of viewer I am: I like good stories, but not the usual cliché-filled love stories. The dramas I’ve enjoyed the most weren’t centered on the love relationships of a few characters, but on something bigger. Beethoven Virus had a love story, but it was pretty much a subplot. The bigger story was the orchestra and its members’ personal growth. City Hunter had romance, but the bigger story was the mission to take down these corrupt politicians. 49 Days had love in it, but the real plotline was about Ji-Hyeon trying to find the three tears so she could live again. And so on.

On the other hand, look at the ones I’ve enjoyed the least. Protect the Boss bored me to tears because it was an unending string of melodramatic scenes where people were trying to confess their feelings and I just couldn’t get into it at all. In fact, I recall that the character I found most interesting was Ji-Heon’s father, who didn’t figure in any of the love stories. I watched Spring Day about two years ago now, but I remember how “blah” it felt to me. And what do you know? It revolved around the romantic aspirations of the characters. Hwang Jin-Yi was mainly about the titular character’s various loves, so that often bored me too.

I think you get the idea. I feel like in the future it’d be best for me to seek out dramas that aren’t too love story-centric. I can handle a little bit, as long as it doesn’t dominate the plot. For right now, I think I’m going to take a short break from watching dramas, because sometimes they can be too much of a time commitment.

As far as the ranking goes, I’ll have to give this one credit for being really good initially, even if I got bored with it later on. I always wonder if I should give myself more time before ranking the drama, because when it’s fresh in my mind I might be more inclined to overrate it. However, I think my feelings on this one are clear enough that I can properly place it in the lower middle.

Ranking:

     1.       Beethoven Virus (5)

     2.       City Hunter (7)

     3.       49 Days (9)

     4.       Unexpected You (4)

     5.       Sandglass (11)

     6.       Three Dads, One Mom (2)

     7.       Delightful Girl Choon-Hyang (10)

     8.       Ad Genius Lee Tae-Baek (12)

     9.       Lovers in Paris (1)

     10.   Hwang Jin-Yi (6)

     11.   Spring Day (3)

     12.   Protect the Boss (8)