Advanced Television

Samsung ad campaign to turn-off TVs

May 24, 2018

Millions of TV sets across the UK will appear to turn themselves off this weekend as part of a marketing campaign for electronics giant Samsung which aims to showcase the evolution of television and its role within our homes.

The disruptive campaign which has been created and produced by Taylor Herring launches on May 25th with a 20-second advert which has been designed to trick viewers into thinking their devices have been turned off leaving nothing but a blank screen.

The multi-channel, multi-network takeover will witness televisions appearing to be ‘switched off’ during the ad breaks of some of Britain’s most popular shows including Coronation Street (ITV), The Simpsons (Sky) and First Dates (C4).

Screens will buzz with static and interference before going blank and entirely silent for five  seconds. The darkness ends with text emerging, which reads: “This is your TV screen … most of the time; a void full of nothing.” It then explains the virtues of Samsung QLED technology which has an ‘ambient’ mode meaning viewers need never see a blank screen again.

The campaign which will roll out in the UK over 10 days starting on Friday. Samsung says the commercials mark the first time UK screens have gone entirely ‘blank’ during an ad break and signposts a revolution in TV design that enables TV sets to either blend in with the décor of the home, or display imagery when not in use, effectively banishing ugly black screens which dominate our living rooms to the annals of history.

Robert King, Vice President – Consumer Electronics, Samsung Electronics UK & Ireland, said: “The large black rectangles which have come to dominate our homes over the past 50 years will soon be a thing of the past as televisions adapt to complement and reflect our modern living environment. Our QLED ambient technology marks the end of an era and we are about to witness a dramatic change in the way we install, watch and enjoy television.”

Rebecca Hirst, Marketing Director, Samsung Electronics UK & Ireland commented: “This unique and disruptive marketing campaign has been designed to underscore our messaging in the most dramatic way possible, switching sets off to remind the public that their TV is simply a boring black screen for 90 per cent of the time”.

The launch follows research by Samsung which found that the majority of British adults (60 per cent) believe that large black TV screens can overly dominate a room or stand out too much. Of the same group studied, a similar number (61 per cent) agreed that modern tastes in interior design are less ‘showy’ than previous decades suggesting we care more about concealing technology within the design of a room than in previous years.

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