Samsung turns Simon Baker into sci-fi hero for new ad
Samsung has put to air the first of its ads featuring Australian actor Simon Baker.
As Mumbrella reported earlier this year, the star of Nine’s The Mentalist is the new face of Samsung.
In the first ad, created by Leo Burnett – designed to showcase a range of the electronic manufacturer’s products – he plays multiple roles including a sci-fi hero.
Lambro Skropidis, Samsung’s head of marketing for marcomms and corporate marketing, said that the “Turn On Tomorrow” strategy was to build the Samsung masterbrand. Skropidis said: “After months of creative development and testing, it is exciting to finally debut our first Australian masterbrand campaign.
“This campaign not only provides us with an opportunity to educate consumers on our diverse range of products, but also communicates to them what the Samsung brand represents. We’re sharing publicly what has long been inherent in Samsung’s culture – a commitment to always stay one step ahead of the market and be first to deliver new innovation that genuinely improves consumers’ lives.”
As well as TV, the campaign will extend into print, outdoor, online and in-store.
Earlier this month Samsung announced a restructure of its marketing team.
“Masterbrand” who came up with that? they need a spanking.
wow, an ad about tomorrow which looks like it was shot, and edited about 15 years ago.
simon baker rox! samsung rox!
This is bloody awful. I lost count of the poorly executed cliches.
can’t hardly wait to see their online execution!
A very compelling argument for Todd Sampson to spend more time at the helm his agency, and less time in the Channel Ten studios.
Wow can’t believe that Simon Baker WENT for this.
Lame.
The worst thing about this mess is that Samsung have done a brilliant job turning around their business (and, thus, brand) with terrific design of brilliant products. This lets down all that hard work. Badly.
In-house agency, I’m guessing?
@Not My Real Name – you didn’t even read the first 8 words did you?
@James, when you’ve worked with Samsung, you begin to understand that Cheil, their in house agency, is the one a) pulling the strings and b) generally screwing things up- irrespective of the agency Samsung use as the front in local markets (Leo, in this case, but same applied to JWT and FCB).
seems like a missed opportunity…
how do so many campaigns featuring great talent fail to hit the mark?
shame
Are all you people bagging this execution the same people applauding the latest VB ad?
The voice over doesn’t sound right on this YouTube version. Saw it last night on TV and I liked it!
@View from the Couch: You mean the ABC, perhaps?
He actually jumps out of the screen. It is like the TV is coming to life. That is amazing!
A cavalcade of interesting products loosely threaded together under the premise of a woeful idea. Terrible direction and a truly cheesey performance from the talent. Absolutely dreadful.
“Bringing you tomorrow today”
GROUNDBREAKING!
@warlach I was referring to 7PM project and Talkin ‘Bout Your Generation.
If Todd Sampson had to review his own agency’s ads he hate himself.
Sure there are some pretty good products in there but you would never guess it from Simon’s narrative. Would have been nice if he sounded just a little bit excited about ‘tomorrow’
I love you Todd, I have loved for a long time now.
I love you on Gruen. Those eyes.
The stubble, the ironic t-shirts. And you were always so damn clever and right – everyone knew you were different. You always saw right through the clichés and the formulaic.
You knew better.
It was like you knew something no one else did.
What we had was special. Those nights alone in my bed, images of you playing in my imagination.
Tell me you had nothing to do with this ad – tell me they are lying to me. I will believe you. I won’t let them take away your specialness. You would never do this; they say your agency did it. But that would make you no better than rest of them. And that can’t be true.
Tell me it’s not.
I’m stricken. I feel betrayed by yet another man, pretending he’s something he’s not. Damn you Todd. Damn you to hell.
I am in need. I need to be comforted. I need to be consoled.
I need to move on. I need to find a new ‘perfect ad-man’.
I am free on Thursday evening.
You know how to contact me.
X
Lavinia
This ad wasn’t done in-house. The creative team who did it were Cameron Harris and Gary Dawson – a senior creative team at Leo Burnett. Not sure why the article didn’t say that.
Probably because they didn’t want it to.
Lavinia, we probably shouldn’t further the heartbreak by telling you his biggest paying client is a cigarette company.