Samsung's latest flagship TV wows the world's grouchiest cat in global campaign

Samsung and creative agency BBH Singapore have partnered up to highlight how Samsung's latest flagship TV can "wow" even the world's grouchiest cat in its latest global campaign. 

Created by BBH Singapore, the campaign video starts with the cat Bebo at the balcony watching a brand-new Neo QLED 8K being delivered – and reacting with a "wow". Unsure of what has so impressed Bebo, his owner embarks on a series of increasingly elaborate and desperate attempts hoping to make the cat say "wow" again. Just as nothing works and the man is about to give up, he switches on the Neo QLED 8K, and the rest is history.

To tell the story of this odyssey, BBH Singapore brought production company Immigrant Studio with director Rodrigo Saavedra on board. The crew said getting the final ‘"wow" right was not easy as it took around 30 takes from the voice actors to land on the right "wow" – one that is funny and believable in equal measure – that gives the film its ending. This echoes the team’s understanding that the never-ending exaggeration of the man’s efforts is key to building up to the "wow" reveal of the TV – and the only way to achieve that is to not hold back when bringing those situations to life, according to the release. 

The campaign went live globally on 3 April and includes a version of the global creative film in partnership with Disney+ running on TV, social media and OOH including London’s Piccadilly Circus and in markets such as Singapore, India, and Australia.

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The creative agency responded to MARKETING-INTERACTIVE saying that the inspiration behind the short film stems from BBH Singapore wanting to make a brave departure from the conventions of TV advertising and its broader premium TV category for Samsung. Past global campaigns for the Neo QLED focused much more explicitly on features such as powerful sound or image quality. This time, Samsung chosen an emotionally-driven storytelling approach for its lead creative. To differentiate Samsung from its competitors, BBH Singapore focused on building emotional superiority, driving desirability through displaying confidence and leadership.

The creators were inspired by both the original grumpy cat, and Owen Wilson's distinctive "wow" meme, and came up with a story of a hard-to-please cat using ‘wow’ as the creative device – demonstrating the emotional superiority of the product with unabashed confidence, the agency said to MARKETING-INTERACTIVE.. 

Hyun Min Chun, head of IMC at Samsung Electronics said, “The Neo QLED 8K sells itself. All you have to do is experience it. This sheer confidence in our innovation became our communication strategy. If the world’s toughest critic can’t help but be impressed by the experience, so will our customers.” 

Sascha Kuntze, chief creative officer at BBH Singapore, shared, “In the past, Samsung has had many animal guests in their ads from ostriches to spiders. But we never dared to put one of the most discerning animals in a story: an exotic short hair with very high standards.”

Last year, Samsung Electronics Singapore launched a Bespoke Home pop-up at Raffles Place which featured an expanded showcase of Bespoke refrigerators, alongside other Bespoke Home appliances in rooms specially designed to inspire homeowners to take a bold step in transforming their living spaces. This pop-up is in line with the brand's launch of the Bespoke Disney Collection in Singapore. The pop-up featured its new Bespoke Disney Collection which had eight unique designs showcasing iconic characters such as Mickey and Friends.

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