“It’s just so .... Wow” - That’s the takeaway in the latest global campaign for the Samsung Neo QLED TV directed by Torben Kjelstrup through production company Immigrant Studio.
It’s a simple premise, created by BBH Singapore that allows the film to focus on the visual spectacle and capture the feeling of being immersed in picture and sound. A premise which allows for a bit of fun along the way, as a TV watching couple are thrown into the interior worlds of what plays out on screen - be it a live football match, a picturesque mountain road or a money heist perpetrated by rabbit bandits.
Created as a continuation of the More Wow than Ever campaign which BBH Singapore and Immigrant Studio created for Samsung last year, the film intentionally avoids features and unique selling points to focus on what they all amount to: upscaling of an already superior viewing experience.
"Every other TV defines 'best' in incremental specs and rational claims, but the most iconic brands drive desirability through emotional leadership. And the emotion we were single-minded about, from the environments to the acting, was that wow feeling that can only come from a truly immersive and superior TV experience," said Charlene Chua, creative director at BBH Singapore.
Speaking to what drew him to the script, director Torben Kjelstrup explained, “Some of the strongest advertising I’ve ever seen works to plant a single word or phrase in the minds of people who see it. Finger licking good. Have a break. Connecting people. Just do it. Of course brands value the ownership of those phrases, but as a director I think the work itself benefits because it allows for films that work towards that one finite point. Which makes it punchy and memorable.”
Here there was something very appealing about creating a whole film that builds up to a simple “wow” - especially because it feels like a bold claim that Samsung can rightfully make. It actually is a really, really good TV.”
The film itself does have a bit of fun working towards this finite point - catapulting the protagonists through a succession of TV worlds as they continually and comically search for words to describe the experience … a clever tease and build up that all works to create an anticipation of what magical word describes this TV viewing experience.
As director Torben Kjelstrup readily admits “It’s a simple trick to add poignancy to that final moment. Constantly teasing it … But the trick works because of the simplicity of the idea.”
Sascha Kuntze, chief creative officer at BBH Singapore, said, “It’s fun to watch, simple and single minded, and most of all, it makes you want to experience that immersiveness, or should I say ‘wow ness’, for yourself.”
The film was shot in Tbilisi Georgia with service production through Radioaktive x Shelter.
On post production Immigrant and Danish director Torben Kjelstrup worked with some of his long-time collaborators, including editor Peter Brandt and sound house Ballad (both fellow Danes) as well as Brazilian VFX studio Globetrotter.