Samsung is promoting its artificial-intelligence-powered health application by showing how the new technology helps modern people ignore the unhelpful instincts that evolved 200,000 years ago.
A short film from agency Ogilvy New York will at first seem familiar to people embracing health-focused New Year’s resolutions. The story follows a 25-year-old man trying to improve his wellness by jogging, eating right and getting enough sleep so that he has the energy to do the things he loves, like marathon karaoke sessions.
What’s different about this tale, however, is the ancient opponent who tries to derail his wellness goals. At every turn, he’s challenged by a survival-minded caveman, who represents the protagonist’s “prehistoric instincts” by insisting that he should only run from predators and needs to load up on fatty foods to survive the winter.
But the modern man is able to ignore those instincts with the help of Samsung Health, which lets him monitor his body fat goals and stress levels.
Samsung released the film at its biannual Galaxy Unpacked event earlier this week, where it also unveiled the Galaxy Ring, a health and wellness wearable that will compete with smart rings from the likes of Apple and Oura.
The ad’s focus on functionality is driven by global research finding that only 12% of people say they’re happy with the state of their wellbeing, while 45% of Generation Z don’t feel comfortable talking about their wellbeing, so they don’t seek help improving it.
“Samsung has an exciting vision for the future of people’s health experience, and it is creating solutions that are rooted in the real, innate, unfiltered ways that people navigate choices about their wellbeing all day, every day,” Ogilvy New York group creative director Mohamed Diaa said in a statement. “We wanted to lean into that reality while also taking the edge off, relating that decision-making in a humorous way. We are excited to help Samsung usher in this bright new era in its tech.”
