To bring full attention to the launch in such a crowded category, Samsung, in collaboration with agencies Wasserman, R/GA, Starcom and a handful of other partners, devised a fully integrated activation comprised of out-of-home, experiential and social marketing across Times Square and the High Line in New York; one of the world’s most heavily advertised and busiest locations.
The Galaxy S8 and S8+ brand creative focused around the world’s first infinity screen, which frees the usual boxed-in screen to give you more to see and less to hold. Fitting in with Samsung’s wider ‘Unbox Your Phone’ message, Samsung took over 69 screens across New York City - 49 in Times Square on 29 March and 13 across The High Line on 21 April. The screens displayed a diver deep in the ocean confronted with a giant whale. The motif emphasised the juxtaposition between nature and us and the limitless possibilities available if we ‘unbox’ our minds.
Samsung timed the creative to go live across Times Square’s boards in unison and dimensionalised it on the ground with a breath-taking spectacle. The famous landmark was flooded with 110 themed performers led by legendary choreographers Rich & Tone, all dancing to transform the floor of Times Square into the seabed and create another giant billboard captured from above. The hundred thousand visitors were submerged into the performance and made to feel a part of the cast, with tens of thousands of programmable LED wristbands, hundreds of electric jellyfish umbrellas, 50 three-foot LED hexagonal panels, bubble machines, composed music, and stage lighting used.
The concept then extended from Times Square across to the High Line, with multiple custom-built projection screens, including a 170ft long projection in the Chelsea Market Passageway and a 25ft hologram further along the High Line. Visitors were immersed in the underwater world with a lighting and sound design, complemented by air bubble machines and LED wristbands that reacted and pulsed depending on your location.
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