The goalkeeper of Vietnam’s U23 football team, the country’s heroes after a historic run at the Asian football championship, has allegedly contracted with a local PR firm to sell the rights to his likeness for commercial purposes, upsetting his club, which already owns his personality rights. Bui Tien Dung was one of the biggest stars emerging after Vietnam’s second place finish at the 2018 AFC U23 Championship late last month thanks to both his talent and his looks. The goalie now has 2.6 million followers on his verified Facebook account, a surge from only a few hundred thousand before the competition in China, where Vietnam lost 1-2 to Uzbekistan in extra time in a memorable snowy finale. On Wednesday, a photo surfaced on Facebook of a price list issued by a local PR company to have Dung appear in ads and publicity campaigns. The company claims to have signed a contract with Dung to exploit his likeness. The ‘ad rate sheet’ of Bui Tien Dung is seen in this screenshot shared on Facebook. Image rights, or personality rights, refer to the privilege of using someone’s image, name, voice, signature, or any other unique characteristics, for commercial purposes. Athletes and celebrities can sign away their image rights through sponsorship and endorsement deals in order to leverage maximum value from their likeness. According to the Facebook photo, advertisers must pay US$10,000 for the goalkeeper to attend an event or a photo shoot. The prices to have him mention a brand in a… [Read full story]
K-pop stars to hit capital festival Hanh Thu By Hanh Thu in Hanoi South Korea’s top singers and bands will perform at Hanoi’s My Dinh Stadium at ‘K-Pop Festival 2012 - Concert in Vietnam’ on November 29. The event will showcase popular K-pop singers Son Dambi and HyunA and a number of top bands including SNSD, Dong Bang Shin Ki, Beast, Sistar, B.A.P, T-ara, Kara, Miss A, FT Island, Teen TOP and INFINITE. Outstanding artists Thanh Lam and Tan Minh will be Vietnam’s representatives at the concert. The event is being held by the South Korean Munhwa Broadcasting Corporation in…... [read more]
‘It has triggered a hunt like when the iPhone first arrived.’ A Nokia 3310 is displayed after its re-launch at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona. Photo by Reuters/Paul Hanna Nearly two decades after being crowned the king of Vietnam's cellphone market, Nokia’s classic 3310 has made a successful return to the mobile-crazy country, proving that its charms still work. The classic talk and text phone, which was reintroduced in a brightly colored version at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona last February, hit Vietnamese shops on Monday and has already become a phenomenon. “It has triggered a hunt like…... [read more]
Lewis Hamilton's first official day as a Mercedes driver was overshadowed by infighting, denials and chaos that raise serious doubts over his supposed dream move. That is the inescapable conclusion despite the insistence of team principal Ross Brawn that he will not be replaced by McLaren engineer Paddy Lowe, whose services are sought by Mercedes' German paymasters. Speaking at the team's British base in Brackley, Brawn said: 'Paddy's not coming, no. If I choose to leave then Paddy will come. We have a fall-back plan. Simple as that.' New leaf: Hamilton insists he isn't joining a team in turmoil But…... [read more]
Singapore press has recently discovered Thailand-born star striker Therdsak Chaiman misrepresented his age by reducing it five years to attend an international football tournament in 1994. Thailand's Bangkok Post newspaper revealed the Thai player declared a false age in 2002, saying he was born in1978 but his current passport states he was born in 1973. The five-year reduction in age was intentionally made many years before so that he could attend the Asian U-16 Football Championship in 1994, when his real age then was 21. Therdsak Chaiman was voted as the best player in the Asian Champions League 2002 and…... [read more]
Singer Minh Hang's performance at the opening of the Dancing with the Stars 2012, on March 18, used a portion of a recording by the singer Lan Anh without prior permission. In response to the public criticism, the programme's organising board made an apology to Lan Anh. "Minh Hang should not be blamed for the incident. She 'performed' the song with the help of Minh Quan, who arranged the last version used during the launch. We were not aware of the incident until it was exposed by the audience," the board said in a statement. At the launch, Minh Hang…... [read more]
