Posted in: Comics | Tagged: advertising, new york, Webtoon

Webtoon Dismisses Comics as a 'Side-Hustle' In Ad Campaign, Apologises

Recently, the world-leading comic book publisher, Webtoon, launched a new advertising campaign on public transport in Chicago and London. Lots of images of popular Webtoon comic books, with "cute comment" headlines highlighting the appeal of the Webtoon comic book reading experience. Here is one seen by public transport user Kyon Kyuu, and posted on Twitter,

"So much tea we should be a grocery app." Cute, right? Webtoon posted their own shots from a Chicago train.

Including the lines "Oops 9pm turned into 3am again "… but then, more notably, the headline "Comics are literature's side-hustle" and the strap line for the whole campaign "we're the story before it streams."

And it was that line that caused an online furore and launched the hashtag #notasidehassle. Reducing comic books to something on the side rather than a valid career in itself, turned from a cute line into acute lies, and the idea that the comics were only valid if they were turned into TV shows for streaming services – like a number of highlighted Webtoon comic books are – kicked everything off. Heidi MacDonald detailed many of the posters on the advertising takeover of the New York Subway Bedford L Stop, which Heidi describes as "the 'hippest' subway stop in NYC, the 'Gateway to Williamsburg' or (in the before times) '3 AM Saturday Night drunken trust fund party'" for her Comics Beat website. Other headlines include "we basically invented doom scrolling", "we think 2d crushes are still crushes" and "your favourite streaming platforms love us". It is possible however that she may have missed the lede, that certain messages being pumped out to a mainstream audience might be less than welcomed by the comic book creators themselves.

And so it was one of Heidi's photos which was cropped for social media and tweeted by Kennedy Homan, Webtoon creator of Andy Bass, headlining an image from Rachel Smythe's Lore Olympus, about to be a live-action TV series, saying "Side-hustle" my ASS" that lit the fuse on this one, adding "WEBTOON creators already got to prove themselves as a worthy stand alone medium and WEBTOON contributes to the belittling omfg. Sorry, it just makes me really upset to feel so belittled like this. I work WELL over what's considered full time every week, and so do 99.9% of other creators. Yesterday I worked over 12 hours to line less than half a chapter. I just don't get this sentiment."

Here are a few of the more prominent reactions, from Webtoon and other comic book creators.

Leaf, creaator of The Last Dimension on Webtoon, "The story that I'm passionate about, that I've been planning for years and that now I work hard on very week is."

Curryuku, creator of Creator of Not so Shoujo Love Storyon Webtoons , "I'm passionate about telling stories for queer people because I want to see more representation, putting in extra hours to tell this story as best as I can because they deserve this, this isn't a side hustle for me "

Neverdraws, creator of Webtoon Asterion: Webtoons are accessible, well-paced, commuter friendly, satisfying quick reads written by a diverse group of creators with stories in every genre but THIS is how they choose to advertise themselves… For the record I really enjoy working with Webtoon, when I complain it's because they have SERIOUS flaws I want them to improve on but for better or for worse they're the best option in comics rn imo"

Herhumanist, creator of Beetle Hands on Webtoon, "I sacrificed my formative years (16/17 to 20) to put all my energy into creating my comic!… I worked 50+ hours per week on average after school and weekends! Webcomic creators deserve some basic recognition"

Emmett Hobbes, creator of Royaleon Webtoon, "This might be one of the most offensive things said about comics on a platform this large since…comics code? Comics aren't a side hustle. The industry eats creators alive, Webtoon especially. Comics take more labor than literature because you have to write AND *gasp* draw them!"

Hannah Alexandra, creator of Webtoon Forever After, "I worked every single day in 2021. I worked weekends and worked until midnight every night to make deadlines. Something this labor intensive is #notasidehustle Please go read Forever After on Webtoon!"

Explodikid, creator of Covenant on Webtoon, "my 80+ hr weeks are #notasidehustle"

Stephatty, creator of Reunionon Webtoon, "Webtoon knows full well how unforgiving their submission deadlines are for all creators. Every comic creator I know devote WAY MORE THAN 40 hours a week to their work, especially when you don't have a team to help you (which is the case for most of us). Disaster of an ad."

Heather Antos: Webtoon can f-ck right off with this "side-hustle" sh-t

DJ Kirkland: Comic book creators work too damn hard for our work to be reduced to "side-hustles". I have a lot of mutual that have been busting their asses to make incredible comics on Webtoon and this just feels like a slap in the face to them. Our work isn't a lesser form of literature.

Jody Houser: As a full-time comic creator, this really grates. But if I were a reader, I'd think "Oh, this is what writers and artists do when they want to have FUN? I want to check that out!!" So I get what Webtoon was going for. I just wish they'd found a way to NOT diminish hard work.

Spike Trotman:Nobody ever got rich underestimating the public. WebToon intends to get rich. The less like reading/books they make webcomics feel, the more likely they are to get people to try them. I'm not a fan of this *remotely,* but I understand the rationale.

Tee Franklin: Oh wow. Webtoon trippin. Side-hustle? Altho I'm not on Webtoon, the comics I write aren't a side hustle, it's my job. This how you treat your creators?

David Pepose: Comics are the most exciting, most challenging, most creative, most stressful, most personal, most expensive, and most rewarding job I've ever had. Never let anyone diminish your art or your hard work.

Mitch Gerads: I can't begin to tell you how much I hate this, @webtoonofficial. Except I don't have the time because this full-ass hustle, that I put everything I have in me and will be my lasting legacy, takes up most of every second of my day.

Jimmy Palmiotti: Wait, this isn't a joke? Are you kidding? Side hustle?

Reilly Brown: The fact that anyone working at a comics publishing platform would ever look at the amount of work that creators put in and consider it a "side hustle" is insanely out of touch.

Trevor Mueller:Comics and webcomics are a viable form of literature. Not only that, but they are… 1) more accessible than prose, especially for readers with disability or early readers 2) more dynamic than prose, since they include non-verbals 3) faster to read than prose #notasidehustle

Comfort And Adam: Making comics is #notasidehustle for us, it's a calling. Stories that say something about the world and our place in it is invaluable to our continued existence as a species. Comics are fun, comics are serious, and comics are literature

Diana/Hibarin: I'm an assistant and a Co-creator, and BELIEVE ME, this isn't a "fun side-hustle". How about some respect for the EXHAUSTIVE HOURS OF JOB AND TERRIBLE DEADLINES you put at us, huh? #notasidehustle

It only took a few hours for Webtoon to perform a reverse ferret and issue the following apology.

To every creator in our community today: we apologize. We want the world to know that comics are for everyone. That everyone who loves great stories in any format will also love your comics. But our ad copy missed the mark. We live and breathe comics every day. They aren't a side hustle, a second choice, or an afterthought. They are what we live for. Creators are the foundation of WEBTOON. We are as passionate about your stories as you are, and fully appreciate the time and effort put into your comics. We will get these updated as soon as possible and review all feedback.

Of course, the ads are still up there. And the strapline, on all digital services, remains in place as well as physical. From a pedantic point of view, the line in question didn't talk about comics being people's side-hustle, but rather "literature", it is the idea that comics can be a fun quirky spinoff. But there's no way that was ever going to come over to comic creators and readers who know that their comics are literature. Maybe, as with the Bedford L Stop, seen alongside all the other quirky lines, may have given it a more acceptable context. And the strapline could be interpreted as intending to say that the comics are more important than the adaptation… "We're the story." But again, there has to have been better phrasing to have chosen. I'm trained as an advertising copywriter, I've won awards and sat on judging panels and everything, I can see what they were trying to do and some of the executions definitely do it… but appealing in a frivolous way to a mainstream audience when your own creators feel insulted doesn't always go down well, when those creators can contact that audience on social media easily and express their displeasure.

Still, Webtoon is trending now. Though possibly not in the way that Webtoon was expecting.

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