Dozens of major corporations have jumped on the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge bandwagon, releasing videos featuring their executives doused in frigid water for the viral philanthropic venture. Samsung may be the first to turn it into an ad.
On Friday morning, a tweet from the company's U.K. mobile account sent out a link to a 15-second spot. A female computerized, British voice identifies herself as the Samsung Galaxy S5, the manufacturer's flagship smartphone, and is subsequently pelted with water and ice cubes. "Gosh, that's freezing," she intones.
Conveniently, one of the features Samsung has touted for its new Galaxy smartphone is its waterproof shell. As the challenge dictates, the phone calls out others to follow suit: Apple's iPhone 5S, HTC's One M8, and Nokia's Lumia 930.
In the tweet, Samsung said the stunt would raise money for the Motor Neurone Disease Association, a British charity. Samsung would not disclose the amount of its donation.
The video was created by Cheil UK, and Samsung said it will be shared across the company's social media channels, such as Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
"The Ice Bucket Challenge provided the perfect opportunity for the brand to do something that was meaningful but also unexpected," Matt Pye, CCO of Cheil UK, said in a statement.
Brr, Our #GS5 just took the #ALS #IceBucketChallenge in support of @MNDAssoc Are you up for the challenge? http://t.co/1OxE62P1pt
— Samsung Mobile UK (@SamsungMobileUK) August 22, 2014
The ALS Ice Bucket Challenge raised more than $40 million in donations between July 29 until Aug. 21, according to the ALS Association.
In 2013, Samsung Electronics reported 536 billion Korean won ($525.7 million) in corporate social responsibility spending. The Korean manufacturer spent $11.3 billion on worldwide ads and sales promotion in 2013, according to the Ad Age DataCenter.
