While the Reddit community usually eschews complaining and mocking things they find on the Internet, they decided to throw their usual constraints aside to?pile on?a new Samsung?Web ad?for the company's newly released?840 EVO solid state drive.?
The viral ad is so horrible, you can not look away. And it just might be the most brilliant marketing move in Samsung's history.
Reddit made the correct decision. All the actors in the slickly produced ad speak in a close approximation of what you might expect a typical consumer to sound like–if you've never met an actual human before. So, what's the deal here, Samsung?
Apparently this ad, which, despite its inclusion of English speaking, American-born actors, was never meant to actually be seen by US consumers. That's likely because the ad will strike US consumers as absolutely insane (not to mention patronizing, as the only actress in the spot describes how she enjoys using her computer in-between chores and becomes anxious at the thought of installing a new drive). The ad was purportedly meant only for use as an in-house marketing tool to be shown at expos throughout Asia.
At least, that's the take according to a Redditor by the name?Damienf1?who claims to have played the businessman frustrated by his slow computer. The Seoul-based actor chalks the ad's overall strangeness to cultural mistranslation, as he describes in a since-deleted comment.
They ask us to exaggerate since many Korean people feel thats how we 'naturally' act (most people here are not very expressive). the script is brutal. written by non-native english speakers, and sometimes the PD or director won't even take our suggestions to change some parts so they sound like something a normal native english speaker would say. [I]ts a promotional video, not a tv commercial, meaning it will be shown at conventions and expos and in-house. most of the people watching it are korean and thats why they make us do all of the above.
Apparently Samsung did not take too kindly to being called out, and called the actor's agency to pull down his comments as he described?later:
Im just as shocked as you at this turn of events. This whole day I was dealing with the agency I did that job through. They are being heavily pressured by Samsung. Not 2 hours after the post went to the front page, my manager literally called me in tears begging me to delete my comments.
I know that sounds ridiculous, but its true.
Samsung, you have created the?Sharknado?of SSD Web ads that has managed to get far more people talking about your?apparently pretty spectacular?SSD drive than otherwise ever would have.
Embrace it, you accidental marketing geniuses.
