The band remains the fastest act to win on a televised music show, with a time of five days, and is the only artist to have all of their lead singles top the platform, Melon, for five consecutive years since their first work.

They are also proclaimed as a "blue chip" due to their demand in the advertising industry, resulting in the endorsements with brands such as Adidas, Oreo, and Kiehl's.

Following the successful launches of YG Entertainment's representative boy band Big Bang (2006) and girl group 2NE1 (2009), the label scouted talents through global and private auditions to nurture their next debuting act.

[1] Following two to three years of training,[2] hints of its prospective line-up were revealed to the public including notable trainees such as Kang Seung-yoon and Lee Seung-hoon,[3][4] who rose to domestic stardom through the audition shows Superstar K2 (2010) and K-pop Star (2011–2012), respectively.

[8] Song Min-ho debuted under Y2Y Contents Company as a member of BoM (2011), which disbanded one year and eight months later,[9] and joined YG Entertainment in 2013, as the final addition to the ensemble.

[14] For its finale, a live broadcast was hosted by Daesung and Yoo In-na in front of an audience of over 3,000 people at the SK Olympic Handball Gymnasium.

[15][16] It showcased the two team's self-composed works, "Go Up" and "Climax", which became their first entries on the Gaon Digital Chart at number eight and twelve, respectively,[17] following its official release.

[20] Two months later, the quintet served as the opening acts for Big Bang's Japan Dome Tour,[21] an opportunity won as the winners of WIN: Who is Next.

[28] Winner joined the YG Family Power World Tour in Osaka on April 12,[29] which later expanded as an action to introduce their newest artist to fans located in Southeast Asia.

[33] The showcase and its concept was cited to be unique from existing male idols and "fresh" by media outlets,[34][35] alluding to the quintet's "classy" image ahead of the release of their first studio album, 2014 S/S.

[51][52] The band was also listed as the only Korean act alongside the likes of Sam Smith and Meghan Trainor,[43] amidst the thirteen top breakout artists by Fuse that year.

[54] Its success resulted in a surge of the band's profile on Weibo, a leading social media service in China,[55] ensuing the group to hold a stop in Shenzhen on January 24, due to popular demand.

[71] Due to Nam taking a break for reasons relating to his mental health in October, the rest of the "Exit Movement" series was delayed indefinitely,[72] until his eventual departure from the band on November 25, resulting in the project's cancellation.

[77] Furthermore, it went on to creating the record of surpassing 100 million streams, making Winner the first ever male idol group in history to achieve this while keeping their "Chart-In" status,[78] and was chosen to be on the Apple Music's "Best of the Week" list.

[83] Through tvN's New Journey to the West 4, Mino's wish to appear on Youth Over Flowers with his fellow Winner members was granted as a special supplementary show.

[87] The single became the group's first time experimenting with the genre, trap alongside reuniting with director Dave Meyers for the music video.

[92] The same month, Winner branched their Everywhere tour to North America beginning with Seattle, followed six other cities including Los Angeles, Dallas, and Toronto.

[104] The four-piece initiated the "Ddeum Challenge" on TikTok, creating a trend nation-wide and attracting the attention of celebrities such as 2NE1's Sandara Park, model Hyoni Kang, and CIX's Seunghun and Hyunsuk.

[116] For their music, all members have been credited for their participation in production, composition, and songwriting,[121][122] for their work since their trainee days,[123] which was considered "rare" for newcomers.

[126][127] In an interview with Vice, Kang shared what he believed differentiated them from other groups: "We incorporate our honest feelings and thoughts—the depth of it [is different] if someone else makes your song for you, versus being involved yourself as a writer [...] we've been putting ourselves into it.

[137] Their commercial success had them cited as the "undisputed top new artist of the year",[131] where they were also credited to popularize limited edition items in the entertainment industry through their album versions.

[138] For university festival season in Korea, Mersenne, a company that casts artists, disclosed Winner were the only requested male idol group alongside iKon in 2018.

[139] In April 2019, the five companies that worked on its casting, Mersenne, Innobay, 2M, Waikiki, and Top Plan, stated Winner were the only male idol group that was sought out that year.

[140] In their career, artists that have cited Winner as a role model or influence include: Tag and Hong Joo-chan of Golden Child,[141] A.C.E's Dong-hun,[142] JBJ's Jin Longguo,[143] Signal,[144] Yongha of WEi,[145] and MustB.

[149] In the advertising industry, Winner has been proclaimed as a "blue chip" long before their official debut as a result of their popularity and reliability to accumulate profit for a brand.

[150][151] They have been lauded for their influence over various generations across their country and abroad, prompting brands of varied genus such as: NII,[150] Fanta,[152] Adidas,[153] Elite,[154] Pizza Etang,[155] Ellesse,[156] Café Droptop,[157] Oreo,[158] and De Medicotem,[159] to recruit the ensemble as its representatives.

They have also endorsed for promotional campaigns of 8Seconds,[160] Calvin Klein,[161] the Korean Culture and Information Service (KOCIS),[162] and Kiehl's,[163] and collaborated with the mobile gaming platform, Dancevil.

[167] Furthermore, a boost in younger customers was also observed,[168] alongside inquires from Asia, resulting in discussions to export their Korean products to its headquarters across the continent.

[173] Winner has donated goods to charity events including the "Creating a Better World With Stars" in 2014, where its proceeds were donated to Good Neighbors, a humanitarian organization that helps single mothers and welfare of children,[174] "Made In Heaven" in 2019, organized by Sean of Jinusean and his wife Jung Hye-young, where profits from the sale were used to cover the care expenses of 100 children,[175] the "SAC Pet Festival" bazaar,[176] and "Flower Response (花答)" in 2020, held by Big Bang's Taeyang, with proceeds donated to Love Snail Charity, a social welfare organization dedicated to help provide cochlear implants and hearing aids to those in need.

[177] The band have further collaborated with photographer Choi Se-hon and his project "The Letter from Angels" (2014) alongside Kangnam, Lee Kwang-soo, Yoo Yeon-seok, and Lee Seo-jin to promote local adoption;[178] clothing brand NII and photo studio "Thank You Studio" for the animal campaign "Happiness", donating its entire proceeds to People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA);[179] and the charity event entitled YG X UNICEF Walking Festival in 2017 which garnered 5,000 participants, where all profits were donated to the Korean Committee of Unicef treat children and adolescents of malnutrition.