Samsung's Olympics Spot Strings Together the World's National Anthems
In an Age of Nationalism, Electronics Marketer Looks to Break Down Borders
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With nationalism rising across the U.S. and Europe, geographic borders are gaining relevance. But with an Olympic-themed ad breaking today, official sponsor Samsung is urging people to break down borders and barriers in a campaign that runs counter to the political tide sweeping much of the globe.
The spot, called "The Anthem," makes a call for global unity by stringing together scenes of people singing various national anthems. They're singing not their own anthems, however, but those of other countries. The ad opens with a girl from Australia, for example, singing a line of the Botswana national anthem into a SamsungGalaxy S7 Edge smartphone.
The commercial aims to give viewers "a glimpse of how Samsung innovative mobile products and technologies can help to break down geographic barriers and unite the world through deep, borderless connections," Samsung said in a statement.
The agency is Leo Burnett, in Chicago and Sydney.
"By singing one 'The Anthem,' fans and athletes across the globe can feel a shared sense of pride and unity and together celebrate collective progress, which is integral to the spirit of the Olympic Games," said Younghee Lee, executive VP-global marketing, mobile communications business at Samsung Electronics.
The ad features six global athletes, including American Alysia Montano, who competed in track and field at the 2012 Olympics; French Paralympic athlete Arnaud Assoumani; and Australian boxer Shelley Watts. The athletes will be featured in additional content online, in which they "tell their stories of defying barriers and overcoming obstacles," according to Samsung.
Samsung, which began its Olympic marketing tenure as a local sponsor of the 1988 Olympics in Seoul, is now a worldwide Olympics sponsor in the wireless communications equipment category. Its deal extends through the 2020 games in Tokyo.
This story also appeared on Adage.com.
Credits
- Date
- Jul 21, 2016
- Brand :
- Samsung
- Client :
- Samsung
- Agency :
- Leo Burnett-Chicago
- Agency :
- Leo Burnett-Sydney
- Global Partnership Assistant Manager :
- Alison Daeun Han
- Global Chief Creative Officer :
- Mark Tutssel
- Chief Creative Officer :
- Britt Nolan
- Executive Creative Director :
- Vince Lagana
- Executive Creative Director :
- Grant McAloon
- Creative Director :
- Scott Huebscher
- Senior Art Director :
- Nils Eberhardt
- Senior Copywriter :
- David Govier
- Executive Producer :
- Matt Blitz
- Senior Producer :
- Christopher Cochrane
- Senior Vice President, Global Account Director :
- Radim Svoboda
- Client Services Director :
- Amanda Quested
- Account Director :
- Ashley Beam
- Global Account Supervisor :
- Huy Ngo
- Account Executive :
- Emily Smith
- Business Director :
- Brendan Swansborough
- Senior Vice President, Global Strategy Director :
- Kara Yang
- Director, Strategy :
- Christopher Bridgland
- Director, Celebrity Services :
- Peggy Walter
- Vice President :
- Peggy Walter
- Director, Music Production :
- Chris Clark
- Music Company :
- Human Worldwide
- Composer :
- John Christopher Barnes
- Arranger :
- Matthew O'Malley
- Sound Designer :
- Daryl Pinsdorf
- Creative Director :
- Gareth Williams
- Creative Director :
- Daryl Pinsdorf
- Creative Director :
- Matthew O'Malley
- Executive Producer :
- Jonathan Sanford
- Visual Effects :
- A52
- Visual Effects Producer :
- Zach Wakefield
- Edit :
- CARTEL
- Editor :
- Andy McGraw
- Executive Vice President, Global Marketing for IT and Mobile Division :
- Younghee Lee
- Agency :
- Leo Burnett-Chicago and Sydney
- Senior Vice President, Global Head of Integrated Marketing :
- Pio Schunker
- Global Head of Experiential Marketing :
- John Chang Young Kim
- Global Partnership Manager :
- Daniel Taehyun Kim
Need a credit fix? Contact the Creativity Editors
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