On occasion, companies like to try something innovative – and a little bit edgy – when it comes to their advertising campaigns. Sometimes it pays off; other times, it blows up in their face and creates a problem.
So the question now goes to Samsung’s UK division, which has launched a new Twitter campaign this week as a tie-in with its new vacuum cleaner. The campaign, with the hashtag #thatsucks, is meant to be a promotion that deals with timely jokes and short videos, but it could very well run into problems with the way it’s worded.
So far, Samsung UK’s tweets have been interesting, to say the least. “When you try to combat nerves by ‘imagining the audience naked’ and realize you’re giving a talk to the Naturist Society, #thatsucks,” reads one tweet. “Dusty Springfield never used a Samsung Vacuum, and #thatsucks. She’d have been called Cleany Springfield otherwise.”
As you can see, the jokes are playful little jabs, but they have led to some rather realistic replies from consumers. Said a Twitter user named @Mdrewey, “@SamsungUK 130 days without a working phone and being told I have to send it away for the 7th time. #thatsucks”
At the very least, some of the tweets have been gold, such as “#Thatsucks when your phone battery dies while writing a twe” (meant to be cut off early). In addition, the company has also been using certain animations with its tweets, like crumbling three-dimensional biscuit art.
The promotion, which is a combined effort between the Cheil agency, the company’s marketing team and TV comedian David Schneider, obviously expect it to take off from humor alone. Said Cheil’s head of social Jonathon Buckley about those who hate it, “We think we’re on the 3 or 4 scale right now, and we’re hoping to move to the 6 or 7 space in time. We couldn’t have gone in too strong from the off. It’s about building it up and deciding what we can and can’t say. With the on-the-fly stuff, we rely on good communication and team work – and good legal training!”
No word yet if Samsung’s US division will launch a similar campaign, but it may not be likely, even with the comical jabs.
Source: Digiday
