Samsung J Series gets Shahid to say 'Johnny mat ban', promises 'Asli 4G'

Samsung has rolled out a new campaign which consists of four TVCs for its J Series range of smartphones. Conceptualised by Cheil India, the films feature Bollywood actor Shahid Kapoor to communicate the features of the phone. All the films follow a humorous route, with narrative inspired by the nursery rhyme 'Johnny Johnny'.

 

One film opens by a poolside where a group of friends have surrounded the protagonist to watch a cricket match on his phone. While he's streaming the match, Kapoor enters the scene and asks the protagonist what's in his hand. The man replies '4G'. Just as he says it, a 'Data Limit Exceeded' warning comes on the phone forcing the stream to stop. Kapoor then shows them the 'Ultra Data Saving' feature on the J Series phone and streams the rest of the game.  

 

The film to show the AMOLED screen of the phone is set in a gym. A young man working out is watching a movie on his phone. Kapoor asks him whether its 'original' to which he replies saying yes. Kapoor then places his phone besides the protagonist to show him the difference between the two screens. The rest of the people in the gym join the duo to show the original '4G Phone'.

This film opens at a party, where the DJ uses his phone to play music. The music stops abruptly as the 'Data Over' alert appears on the mobile. The DJ asks Kapoor for him as the crowd gets unruly. Kapoor tells him about the 'Double Data' offer from Airtel and connects his phone to the system. The party continues. 

 

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The long battery life promise is made through this film, where a couple enjoy a movie on their phone on a mini-bus. Kapoor, riding on the back seat, comes to the rescue with the new Samsung phone when their phone's battery dies. 

 

Anupama Ramaswamy, ECD, Cheil India, said, "The idea was to establish the Samsung product superiority story once again, in a compelling and memorable way. So we chose the popular nursery rhyme 'Johnny Johnny', and gave it a humorous twist to tell people one thing – ‘don't be a Johnny' by being fooled into buying a 4G phone that cannot provide the real 4G experience. Be smart and choose the right 4G phone. I wanted to cast Shahid Kapoor for the films because he brings the right mix of being naughty as well as cool. His youthfulness adds freshness to the execution and bolsters the memorability as well as the reach of the campaign.”

 

Kundan Joshee, SVP, Cheil Worldwide, said, “With video and pictures consumption rising there were many issues that the intending consumer is grappling with and having understood them, Samsung has created an array of features that can handle those concerns. Also recently the market has seen the launch of many 4G handsets from diverse manufacturers but the question that needed to be answered is whether they are ideal for experiencing 4G the way it should be experienced! Hence the task that the team had was to cut through the ‘me too’ offerings and bring alive to the consumer the advantage and need for having the REAL 4G experience versus a basic 

 

He added, “The cheeky creative execution we believe is something that is entertaining as well as sharp enough to bring alive the advantage in a compelling manner. Also am sure 'Johnny mat ban' will soon permeate into the consumer lingo and will live beyond the campaign.”

 

Credits

 

Client: Samsung 

Creative agency: Cheil Worldwide SW Asia

Creative team: Anupama Ramaswamy, Amit Karwasra, Sarabjit Singh, Priyanka Dandia, Pankaj Raj

Account management: Kundan Joshee, Aarti Malhotra, Sangeet Bhatia, Kapil Jaidka, Lalit Bisht