BLACKPINK's Lisa has become the latest ambassador of the alcoholic drink Chivas Regal. As photos and videos of her advertisement are now circulating online in Thailand, it looks like it doesn't sit well with the Thai government.
Local media revealed the Thai authorities launched an investigation into widespread advertisements of Lisa on social media. As a Buddhist country, Thailand bans alcohol ads on all media platforms, so they're now investigating the spread of its content online.
AllKpop revealed Bangkok Post and Nation reported Thailand's Ministry of Health's Centers for Disease Control and Prevention ordered the Alcohol Control Committee (OACC) to investigate everyone who shared and spread the singer's photo and video ads on social media.
The media outlets claimed the clips and images of the K-pop star promoting the whiskey brand are now widely circulating online. Now, netizens are quite confused if Lisa is allowed to do advertisements for alcoholic drinks and if she will also be punished like other celebrities who do so.
With that said, OACC is reportedly investigating whether her ads have violated any alcohol-related laws. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention deputy director Kachonsak Kaewcharat said the 24-year-old idol's ad appearance might not have violated any law in other countries that don't regulate alcohol advertising like Thailand does.
Article 32 of Thailand's Liquor Control Act prohibits promoting alcohol and even displaying glasses containing alcohol. It also includes displaying certain alcoholic drink brands and encouraging others to drink alcohol.
Anyone who will violate this law has to pay the fine of 500,000 baht (over $15,000) or be imprisoned for up to a year. The fine can also be both.
So, will this apply to Lisa? Coconuts revealed this law would not apply to any advertisement broadcast made outside Thailand.
The country has its own beverage brands that use this rule to promote their products, leaving the local beer community behind. So, Move Forward Party beer activist-turned-MP Taopiphop Limjittrakorn said that if Lisa lives in Thailand, she can't accept Chivas Regal's offer to be its ambassador.
Meanwhile, the Scotch whisky brand just tapped Lisa to be its new ambassador. A one-minute video reveals her success story and its whole message is to inspire others to choose the successful path.
"But success means nothing, not one thing unless we share it," Lisa said in the clip. By its looks, she's quite safe from Thailand's fine, knowing she is living in South Korea.
