Professor Seo Kyung-duk of Sungshin Women’s University on Tuesday said he and Korean celebrities posted an ad in a Brazilian newspaper to support the Korean national team in the World Cup.

The ad, funded by Korean pizza chain Pizza Maru, was posted on the bottom half of the page nine sports section of the Folha de S. Paulo. The Brazilian daily has the biggest circulation in the Latin American country.

The ad reads, “ENJOY IT, REDS!” and has a group picture of the Infinite Challenge World Cup supporters run by popular MBC reality show “Infinite Challenge.”

Besides the show hosts, actress Son Ye-jin, actor Jung Il-woo, comedian Ji Sang-ryeol, Baro of boy band B1A4 and Lizzy of girl group After School appear in the promotional picture in red uniforms. Red is the signature color of supporters of the Korean soccer team, and also represents The Red Devils, the nation’s largest civilian soccer supporters’ organization.

“Through the ad, we wanted to let the world know that Korea is the sole Asian country to appear in the World Cup eight times in a row, and to underscore Korea’s image as a nation with excellence in sports,” Seo said.

“I visited Brazil last week and was impressed with the high popularity of K-pop and Korean entertainment reality shows in the Latin American region,” he added, alleging that the ad not only supports the Korean soccer team but also boost the global popularity of the Korean cultural content.

The Korean professor was dubbed “the PR expert in promoting Korean culture” back in January, when he posted an ad for makgeolli, a traditional rice-based alcoholic drink, in the European Wall Street Journal’s Jan. 5 edition. Actor Song Il-kook was chosen as the ad model, in reflection of the global popularity that he gained through MBC historical television series “Jumong.”

By Chung Joo-won (joowonc@heraldcorp.com)