New Sponsor for Tarkan?

In the wake of nationwide protests over the brutal slaying of 20-year-old female student Özgecan Aslan in southern Turkey, rumours are circulating that Tarkan has signed a three million "record-breaking deal" with a leading paint brand.

It's rumoured the singer has signed a one year deal with Filli Boya, a range which gave prominent backing to the protests over Aslan's murder. In its purchased TV slots a dark screen was aired with the hashtag #ozgecanicin (for Özgecan) instead of running its current adverts.

The rumours of a new advertising campaign began after Tarkan's guitarist Can Şengün shared photos on Facebook during the filming of a Filli Boya commercial at the Volkswagen Arena in Istanbul. Although Şengün didn't tag Tarkan, the singer is pictured with his back to the camera.

The Filli Boya range is part of Betek Boya. Founded in 1988, it has been the leading company in architectural paints and thermal insulation systems in Turkey for nearly two decades.

It teamed up with Caparol, the leading paint brand in Europe, in 1993 and is a pioneer not only in the paint industry, but is also a key player in Turkish industry becoming one of the elite top 100 companies.

UPDATE: Filli Boya's commercials featuring Tarkan

The pop version

The adverts were filmed under the direction of Ömer Faruk Sorak, with musician Fahir Atakoğlu accompanying on piano. They were aired on 33 channels simultaneously.

The allaturca version

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Working with Tarkan

Meanwhile, in an interview with İskender Paydaş, the producer talked of his time working with Tarkan last year, when the iconic pop star featured in Paydaş' second celebrity compilation album.

Explaining he been waiting to work with Tarkan since the start of his album series, the producer described him as "hard-working" and a "perfectionist", and that it had been "very enjoyable" working with him - on more than one project.

"We didn't just come together for "Hop De". While we were doing something else, we did that song for my album, too," he said.

Paydaş is noted for his contributions to Turkish pop music, most notably on singer Mirkelam's 1995 album (on which Tarkan provided backing vocals to the lead track "Her Gece").

Tarkan and Paydaş know each other well, having travelled on tour together. Paydaş played live sets with Tarkan, appearing on stage at the Hippodrome in London during Tarkan's 1997 European tour.

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