Client: DUCK (SC Johnson) | Talent: Kim Seon Ho (Brand Ambassador) | Discipline: Character & Merchandise Design, Collectible Toy Development, Blind-Box Mechanic | Formats: Plush Keychain, Vinyl Figure, Blind Box | Market: Thailand | Agency: Laugh Contagious Communications, Kuala Lumpur
For this special collaboration, we designed a series of limited-edition DUCK plush toys in partnership with Kim Seon Ho, blending DUCK's iconic mascot with strong Korean cultural elements to celebrate the ambassador partnership. Each plush character was thoughtfully styled with K-culture–inspired outfits, including traditional hanbok details and modern Korean fashion cues, creating a collectible range that feels both culturally authentic and highly giftable, striking a balance between cute, premium, and fandom-driven so it appeals strongly to Kim Seon Ho's fans while remaining unmistakably DUCK — developed as merchandising and promotional collectibles suitable for keychain formats and limited-run activations, extending the collaboration beyond advertising into tangible brand love.
The plush keychain format — soft, carry-everywhere collectibles, from scholar's hanbok to summer style to the ambassador tee.
The premium vinyl figures — the same characters as display-worthy collectibles, built for the shelf and desk.
The craft ran from sketch to shelf. Each duck was designed first as a character concept, costume references annotated, hanbok and gat details researched, fabric and colour swatches specified before being produced in two collectible formats: a soft plush keychain for everyday carry and a premium vinyl figure for display. The styling does double duty: a scholar's blue hanbok and horsehair gat root the range in authentic Korean heritage, while a modern summer look and a lilac ambassador tee (carrying Kim Seon Ho's signature and photocard-style motif) bridge to contemporary K-fandom. Every piece stays unmistakably Duck so the collaboration reads as Duck wearing the partnership, not a mascot swapped out. Built as a blind box, the range turns a purchase into a small thrill of chance and a reason to keep collecting until the set is complete.
Sketch to shelf — the character concepts, costume references and fabric swatches behind each duck in the range.
An advertising campaign borrows a fan's attention; a collectible earns a place in their life. Turning a celebrity or IP partnership into physical merchandise is one of the most powerful ways to deepen brand affection, because it converts fleeting media exposure into a tangible, personal object — one that gets displayed, gifted, photographed, clipped to a bag, and shown off inside a fandom. The design discipline is real: an ownable character has to honour the mascot's core equity while genuinely expressing the partnership, be culturally authentic rather than costume-shallow, and hit the sweet spot of cute, premium, and collectible all at once. As a creative agency in Kuala Lumpur, we design brand mascots and character merchandise, celebrity and IP collectibles, and blind-box and premium mechanics for FMCG, beauty, and lifestyle brands across Malaysia, Thailand and Southeast Asia.
Capabilities applied to this project: Duck plush toy design, Duck Kim Seon Ho collaboration, brand mascot merchandise design, character toy design, collectible toy development, blind box design, plush keychain design, vinyl figure design, celebrity collectible merchandise, K-culture collaboration design, SC Johnson merchandise, fandom merchandise design, BTL and merchandise Kuala Lumpur.
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