Netizens Have Mixed Reactions To The Lyrics In NewJeans’ New Coca-Cola Collaboration Song “Zero”
Despite only debuting in 2022, ADOR‘s girl group NewJeans has undoubtedly shown an unexpected dominance in the industry. Whether through their music stats, brand deals, or much more, the popularity was unprecedented.
Since they debuted, it seems like the members have showcased their popularity by making huge deals with top brands. Whether it’s as a group for brands like Levi’s, or individually for designers like Armani and Burberry, NewJeans has taken over.
In March, NewJeans’ influence was felt even more when it was announced that the members were the newest ambassadors for Coca-Cola.
Although the song is an advertisement, the subtle nods to the brand mean that NewJeans could easily release this as their own single and top the charts. The lyrics were summery, and if you didn’t know it was for a collaboration, you wouldn’t bat an eyelid at the words.
Yet, while most fans couldn’t stop praising the song and the members, one part collectively gained mixed reactions and had netizens confused. The whole song was great and exuded the perfect vibes for the group, which made people forget it was an advert… until the chorus.
Not only did the song change tempo and genre almost, the lyrics started incorporating the brand in the most obvious and thus random ways.
Coca-Cola is Tasty
See you looking, catch it
Here’s your Cola— “Zero” lyrics
In the YouTube comments and on Twitter, netizens found the random Coca-Cola reference just wrong.
While they understood the song was an advertisement, they didn’t understand why it was just so randomly placed and obvious in the chorus alone. The rest of the song had a very “NewJeans” vibe to it that was abruptly interrupted to emphasize the main purpose of the song.
The NewJeans chorus terrifies me. Maybe this is a simulation.
— Asian Junkie (@asianjunkiecom) April 3, 2023
so about that newjeans new song Zero, i was really enjoying the song but then the chorus hits.. COCA COLA SITI MASYITAH??? i mean yea it’s a song for coke advertisement but still the chorus is just 😭😭 nvm at least they got the coins ig
— izzi berpuasa (@IzzraifHarz) April 3, 2023
the way newjeans could have gotten away with this coca cola ad song until the chorus hit pic.twitter.com/C1iH5KhDQ5
— 갈로르 (@gvlores) April 3, 2023
People admitting how newjeans song zero is so good but they don’t like it just because it says “coca cola is tasty” is ador’s sign to GIVE US NEW SONGS WITH NEWJEANS BECAUSE EVERYONE WANTS IT they never miss!
— #ZERO 🥤 (@haeyobbi) April 3, 2023
Yet, not everyone was negative about the brand endorsement being included in the chorus. Many explained that ADOR and Coca-Cola had been smart in connecting nostalgia with the track.
koreans explaining the song on youtube since a lot of people are confused about the chorus 😭#NewJeans_Zero #NewJeansxCocaCola pic.twitter.com/4BessXU8X3
— OMG OUT (@jeansnni) April 3, 2023
the chorus of the newjeans song is very unserious but i kinda love it like COCA COLA IS SO TASTYpic.twitter.com/DMduGdT46K
— 🫵😂 (@rikizwon) April 3, 2023
so apparently the hook of Zero "Coca Cola Mashitda (is tasty)" is a korean version of "Eenie, meenie, minie, mo". it used to be quite famous in korea.
newjeans and coca cola production team is genius to incorporate that in the song in order to make it feel nostalgic to koreans. pic.twitter.com/OPpvVrOzjC
— ZERO OUT NOW (@nwjnsbts) April 3, 2023
While the marketing was undoubtedly clever, it isn’t surprising that netizens have mixed opinions of the song. The lyrics and concept had the ability to become a general hit song for the group, but the chorus blatantly steers it into the route of advertising, losing appeal, especially for global fans.
