MG Saemaul Geumgo's AI cat ad hits 10 million YouTube views in 4 months

A Saemaul Geumgo advertisement featuring an AI-generated cat character has surpassed 10 million YouTube views just four months after its release.

Saemaul Geumgo announced Wednesday that its digital advertising campaign "MG Saemaul Geumgoyang (Youth Edition)," released in May, has crossed the 10-million cumulative view mark on YouTube. With this milestone, five Saemaul Geumgo YouTube videos — including ads featuring the organization's official model — have now exceeded 10 million views.

"MG Saemaul Geumgoyang" is an AI character marketing campaign built around a cat motif, playing on the similarity between the Korean words for "Saemaul Geumgo" and "cat" ("goyangi"). The campaign uses an animated cat band and a jingle, and employs a wordplay combining "to elevate" ("goyangsikida") with "cat" to introduce Saemaul Geumgo's youth support and community contribution projects.

The youth edition covers programs including support for socially isolated and reclusive young people returning to society, the creation of youth communities in rural areas, and backing for youth-led local food businesses.

A separate installment titled "Finance That Elevates Society," released in June, highlights regional financial support hubs and community contribution activities such as MG Gallery, MG Dream House and the Sarang-ui Jomdori program. That video has accumulated approximately 7.3 million YouTube views.

Last year, Saemaul Geumgo ran a campaign called "MG Saemaeul-e Eoseo Osae!" (Welcome to MG Saemaul), which featured an AI-reimagined version of its "Blue Expedition Bluebird" character alongside a traditional Korean music-based jingle. This year, the organization has continued its AI character marketing with the "MG Saemaul Geumgoyang" campaign, centering on the cat character.

"We wanted to communicate Saemaul Geumgo's wide range of activities in a friendly and approachable way through the cat character and jingle," a Saemaul Geumgo official said. "We will continue to produce content that showcases the many sides of Saemaul Geumgo in an engaging and entertaining manner."