Samsung: A New Flavour of Sound
Posted by Martha McPherson on September 21, 2012
Comment on this article
Samsung’s latest advert for its new Wireless Audio Dock is an interesting visual play on the industry idea of multichannel marketing. Marketers are increasingly seeking to create an all-round consumer experience through social media and app technology, as well as traditional media such as retail stores and billboards.
Samsung has taken this experiential element almost literally, in order to appeal to the senses of music lovers. The new advert encourages us to ‘Taste a New Flavour of Sound’, asking ‘chocoholic’ consumers to enjoy through their ears the richness and warm that they feel from chocolate. In the TV ad, George Craig of One Night Only explodes happily into chocolate as he jams to his own song in a bright white room.
You might have seen something of this technique before: think of the poor Skittles ‘Midas Touch’ man who can’t touch anything without it turning into skittles.
In fact, the slightly synesthetic bent of Samsung is reminiscent of Skittles’ ‘Taste the Rainbow’ campaign from my childhood, and perhaps appeals to those grown-up consumers who loved the ‘Taste the Rainbow’ ads. Skittles’ latest adverts have taken physical appreciation of the product to the next level, with some fairly left-field adverts and the overarching call to ‘Experience the Rainbow’. The marketing team have been having a ball!
Recent executions can be found on the Skittles YouTube channel and include a monobrow made of skittles, a boy with skittles-pox and a gym-goer who ‘Sweats the Rainbow’. The latest breed invites the viewer to place their finger strategically onto their computer screen, where it becomes a central part of the ad – kissed by a princess, or tickling a baby werewolf stomach. These ads are a little bizarre – an example of childlike synesthetic imagination taken to extremes – and can lead to an unpleasant viewing experience for consumers. One reviewer said that Skittles’ web content ‘kind of freaked me out’.
As multichannel becomes core strategy for advertisers, I expect to see a lot of tinkering with multi-sensual advertising. Somewhere between Samsung’s tentative steps and Skittles’ wackiness lies the perfect recipe.
No Comments