“Optimism is not the easy way out—it’s a very brave thing,” Lee explained. “So together we came up with the concept of the brave optimist. LG is a group of brave optimists who believe this life will be good and try to make everyone’s life better. As a result, customers will get the benefit.”

Enter skateboard bro

LG’s video released at the end of September echoes Lee’s observations. The gray and chunky man whipping through the suburbs on his longboard is clearly relying on optimism as he takes a stab at what’s usually a younger man’s sport.

Meanwhile, the narration links the visuals to the slogan. “Optimism is a hard thing to choose,” intones the whisper-soft voice of the narrator. “But once you do, you’ll see why life’s good.”

To further convey its messaging, LG has also upgraded its logo. Though LG styled its emblem as a smiley face from the beginning, many consumers missed the cue. “Not many people realized that it was smiling because it was static,” Lee said.

To remedy that problem, future ads will feature an animated face that can “greet” viewers by winking and nodding at them. And while the logo itself is the same one that debuted in 1995, its color has been bumped up from a burgundy to what LG is calling “active red,” a hue that the company hopes will speak to millennial and Gen Z consumers.

“This smile and the whole visual is being true to our heritage,” added Hyoeun Kim, vp of global marketing. “The ‘Life’s Good’ message has always been there, [but] we’re going to rejuvenate it and revitalize it for the digital world, the young generation. We wanted to bring it to life.”

Can a fridge make life good?

But LG’s task is likely to be bigger than what a smiley face alone can accomplish.

As Lee conceded, younger consumers tend to develop deep emotional connections with devices like smartphones because they interact with them frequently and intimately. But LG exited the smartphone sector in July of 2021, leaving it with refrigerators and washing machines. Americans, Lee said, “don’t feel a strong attachment to these devices.”

“So, our challenge is getting engagement with those younger customers so that they can also get some emotional benefit and emotional feeling when they come to the age of using our products.”

Time will tell whether LG’s new optimism messaging will engender that sort of bonding, but Roth likes the concept.

“Whether this is based on research or just really good instinct, if there ever was a time when we need some optimism, I’d would say now is it,” he said. “To make that part of their story is timely, and a smart choice.”