A Samsung web video campaign featuring a Portuguese fashion blogger listing her wishes for the New Year has become a viral joke on social networking sites, forcing the multinational company to present a public apology.
In the video, a well-groomed Pépa Xavier, who writes the Fashion-a-Porter blog, is seen holding her Samsung tablet while she describes what she would like for 2013 – luck, time for herself and money to buy a Chanel purse. “I would like to have one of those classic black purses that go well with anything. This would be a personal conquest,” she said in the video.
Immediately, criticism and jokes multiplied on social networking sites, to such an extent that Samsung was forced to suspend the video and post an apology on its Facebook page. It stated: “The ‘2013 Wishes’ campaign aimed to share personal and professional aspirations for the New Year. As we listen to the opinions of those who follow our work, their disapproving of the content in this campaign led to us removing it from the air. We apologise for what happened.”
Criticism related to the fact that the tone, language, empty speech and wishes had little to do with most people’s realities, at a time that the country was in the middle of a serious economic crisis.
A brand management specialist said this was a poor campaign aimed at social networking sites and that the content reflected nothing of the brand.
