Samsung Parodies ‘90s Teen Horror Movies as the Flip Phone Returns
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Samsung is playing into people’s anxieties around switching phones with an ad inspired by teen horror movies such as “Friday the 13th.”
The spot is a follow-up to last year’s “Join the Flip Side,” by Wieden+Kennedy Amsterdam, which promoted the mobile brand’s foldable range through a satirical thriller in which the protagonist is haunted by foldable objects. That campaign’s success inspired Samsung to launch a sequel, where a group of campers try their best to avoid laying eyes on a dangerously seductive device.
“’Join the Flip Side’ season one taught us that in a market where most devices look almost identical, we could stand out with a product and a campaign that grabbed people’s attention. We also learned that we could be bolder and embrace the fun that joining the flip side can bring to everyone,” Sonia Chang, Samsung’s vp, global head of mobile experience brand marketing group, told Adweek.
The new ad follows five friends at a lakeside camp who are warned that if they see the Samsung Flip even once, it will haunt them until switching smartphones. While one of the campers dismisses the rumor, she’s quickly entranced by seeing the smartphone in action.
The story is based on “the idea that often people move with the crowd; they don’t want to be the first mover,” Chang explained.
The rest of the group flees, trying to cover their eyes with hats and even a canoe to avoid seeing the phones that have popped up all over camp. Like any good horror movie, they lose people along the way.
As they drive into a storm looking to escape, they find they’ve accidentally brought a Flip into the car. The ad ends with the friends fully mesmerized by the Galaxy Z Flip 5, which launches July 26.
Styling the film after a teen horror movie “taps into a very appealing cultural zeitgeist right now, as well as connecting to the naturally nostalgic feeling of the flip phone,” Chang said.
“Join the Flip Side” directors Matias Rygh and Mathias Nordli Eriksen returned to make the second chapter in the campaign.
“Changing perceptions means we have to do something different. We know people know they want to switch, but there is inertia to taking that step,” said Chang. “Rather than ignore barriers, we embraced the people who say they’d ‘never switch’ by making them feel seen and understood on their emotional journey of switching.”
https://www.adweek.com/creativity/samsung-parodies-90s-teen-horror-movies-as-the-flip-phone-returns/