Samsung Smart QLED TV commercial: A family affair

Instead of highlighting product features in the advertising for a new range of TVs, Samsung focuses on the strength of father-daughter bonding

Samsung is touting its new range of premium television sets, Smart QLED TV, as “the next innovation in TV”. A new television campaign for the product ahead of the festive season aims to strike an emotional chord with consumers and steers clear of highlighting the product features. 

The advertisement shows the relationship between a father and his daughter, both football fanatics. The girl is hooked to catching live action on TV with her father since childhood. And even as her father interrupts her so that she focuses on studies during her growing up years, she trains herself in the game and becomes a footballer whose big match is seen on television by her father. They both shed tears of joy as she scores a goal. The high quality and sharpness of the pictures of the QLED TV is only subtly suggested in the final scene when the man and the daughter seem to touch each other’s hands across the screen as they make a wave-like gesture to celebrate the occasion.

Ranjivit Singh, chief marketing officer, Samsung India, points out that recent ad campaigns — such as the ones on smart classrooms, technical schools and customer service vans — have warmed the hearts of consumers with their strong emotional content. “These campaigns showcase the brand ethos of Samsung —helping communities and also caring about consumers at every step and bringing in innovative technologies to solve real-life problems,” he explains.

For the current campaign, the company was inspired by stories shared by customers, highlighting how a TV could be an integral part of a family. “We wanted to have a different approach this time. Instead of showing the latest features of our TV in the ad, we briefed (ad agency) Cheil to bring alive the emotions that surround our televisions,” Singh says, adding that Samsung’s campaign strategy is to keep customers at the core and focus on its ability to listen to them.

Sagar Mahabaleshwarkar, chief creative officer, Cheil Southwest Asia, says with more and more people recognising and celebrating women, brands are also making a conscious effort to champion women power. 

“We chose the usual subject of sport with a twist. The campaign showed the hard realities that women in sports face but how a Samsung product can bridge the gap and help a father witness his daughter’s success and feel proud about her. The treatment for the campaign was different and I think it is catching the eyeballs of the right target audience,” says Mahabaleshwarkar.

“The stories we are telling in our ads are inspired by people like us. Our social intelligence tool Cheil Pulse has played a significant role in understanding the Indian consumer and using those insights, we have created compelling stories for our recent campaigns,” he adds.

Samsung launched its new flagship premium line-up of QLED TVs this year. The overall size of the Indian TV market is around $2.4 billion (Rs 15,430 crore). The South Korean consumer electronics major is aiming to garner around 60 per cent market share of the premium TV segment by the end of this year, up from 48 per cent at the times of the QLED launch.