Launching People
Samsung · In-house, Seoul · 2013–14 · Role: Global Creative Director · Awards: Clio 2014, 7 Cannes Lions 2015
“Launching Alfred” picked up a 2014 Clio, and the broader platform rolled out across Europe, Latin America, and the Middle East, earning seven Cannes Lions in 2015.
Samsung doesn’t launch phones. It launches people.
Samsung ads had always led with cold tech specs: processor speeds, megapixels, screen resolution. Numbers maybe one percent of buyers cared about. Meanwhile Apple had spent years quietly making its ads about the person holding the phone and what they could make.
So we flipped it. The customer became the hero, and the phone became the tool that helped them get there. We built a story format flexible enough to work in every country Samsung sold phones.
The idea
Launching People. A 52-year-old hydro-plant worker in Austria used a Galaxy S3 to start a real photography career.
The same story engine powered big cultural campaigns in London and Paris with Idris Elba, Rankin and Paloma Faith.
What I did
Set the creative vision for the platform as Samsung’s Global Creative Director, and built the story framework with our regional teams.
Ran the day-to-day work across all devices, leading a team of art directors, writers and designers.
Sold the human-first approach inside Samsung and held the line against constant pressure to lead with specs. A good human story builds more brand than a spec sheet.
Want to talk about work like this?
Email me or find me on LinkedIn.