THE LAST WISH

TitleTHE LAST WISH
BrandSAMSUNG
Product / ServiceCORPORATE BRAND
CategoryB03. Use of Exhibitions / Installations
EntrantCHEIL WORLDWIDE Seoul, SOUTH KOREA
Idea Creation CHEIL WORLDWIDE Seoul, SOUTH KOREA
Media CHEIL WORLDWIDE Seoul, SOUTH KOREA
PR CHEIL WORLDWIDE Seoul, SOUTH KOREA
Production ANGLE Seoul, SOUTH KOREA
Production 2 A.P.C Seoul, SOUTH KOREA
Production 3 AWORKS Seoul, SOUTH KOREA

Credits

Name Company Position
Jeongkeun Yoo Cheil Worldwide Chief Creative Officer
Wain Choi Cheil Worldwide Head of Creative Division
Youngok Yang Cheil Worldwide Executive Creative Director
Seho Kwon Cheil Worldwide Creative Director
Giho Lee Cheil Worldwide Art Director
Sunga Choi Cheil Worldwide Art Director
Wijeon Lee Cheil Worldwide Junior Art Director
Hyelim Heo Cheil Worldwide Copywriter
Jihwan Park Cheil Worldwide Copywriter
Jisu Won Cheil Worldwide Copywriter
Wonwha Chung Cheil Worldwide Account Executive
Changyu Park Cheil Worldwide Account Executive
Meehyun Cho Cheil Worldwide Account Executive
Younghae Son Cheil Worldwide Account Executive
Sunwoo Joo Cheil Worldwide Account Executive
Wansoo Park Cheil Worldwide Account Executive
Jihyun Kim Cheil Worldwide Account Executive

The Campaign

This idea was developed to bring some measure of comfort to those who’ve long been weary of the wait and fulfill their last wish. The idea involved old photographs and KIST’s 3D age progression technology, originally developed to identify criminals and missing persons. This software was used to predict the faces of the divided family members by drawing from the faces found in old photographs dating back to before the war. At least this way, families in North and South Korea who have been separated from their loved ones can be reunited in the pages of photo albums. We reached out to 23 persons who fortunately had old photographs taken before the Korean War 70 years ago. The likenesses of the family members were predicted using the age progression software. The photographs were featured in an exhibition which was opened to the public to touch more lives through these stories.

Creative Execution

We placed phone calls to over 2,000 people who were separated from their families during the Korean War to determine how many still had photographs of their families living in North Korea. We narrowed down the candidates and visited them at their homes. Twenty-three respondents had actual photographs we could use, and these photographs were delivered to KIST (Korea Institute of Science and Technology). Using 3D age progression software, KIST created images of the current likenesses of the missing family members by predicting what they must look like today. We then provided the computer graphic design work to produce photographs of the families from both South and North Korea. These unique photographs, together with the stories of the families who have been separated for over 70 years, were featured in an exhibition that was viewed not only by the separated families and senior citizens, but by young people as well.

Describe the success of the promotion with both client and consumer including some quantifiable results

Major media outlets across the Republic of Korea featured this story, with much of the press and various media channels announcing the opening of the photo exhibition. Online, the promotional video for this exhibition recorded over 400,000 views (as of August 21). Throughout its three-day run, the exhibition drew nearly 1,000 visitors who came to share the emotional moments. What was especially meaningful was seeing the divided families who had been lost from their loved ones for nearly 70 years find comfort in the photographs. This campaign was meaningful for Korean citizens as well, as it gave everyone the opportunity to remind themselves once again of the families’ sorrow.

Explain why the method of promotion was most relevant to the product or service

Fundamentally, the main purpose of promotion & activation is to connect brand to people directly. Many forms of media were used in this campaign, including film, and online, but our main media format was Exhibition. And our exhibition was nothing short of a miracle. The fact that these people held on to these photographs as they fled for their lives, and the fact that they kept these photographs for 70 years, are amazing indeed. While this exhibition was small in scope, it was huge in the sense of how it contained the untold grief and longing of so many people.

The single most important keyword for Samsung as a brand is the word “connect.” This is precisely why we are focusing on mobile—to allow users to connect to people who are far away, to people they cannot be with. The Last Wish campaign arose out of this brand philosophy, to help people connect. Through this campaign, families were able to connect with their loved ones at least in photographs, the same loved ones they only saw in their dreams. While Samsung’s mobile or display products were not directly featured anywhere in the campaign, the medium of photography, which allowed families from South and North Korea who have been separated for 70 years to be together again, was a truly enabling technology that allowed people to connect.