Quite a joke

 
Showbusiness LG reveals the secret of "Scarlet". The campaign played with the term TV series and caused confusion among consumers.  
The new TV series "Scarlet" would have lacked for nothing: a gripping story, charismatic beauties, action and a big secret. For weeks, a trailer for the supposed new TV spectacle circulated on the internet and later on television. The Norwegian model Natassia Malthe took center stage as "Scarlet". Her mystery: a scarlet eye. At the beginning of May, Hollywood celebrities gathered at a premiere party in London and Los Angeles. Behind the globally advertised TV series, however, was not a TV hit, but a new flat screen from manufacturer LG (short for Life's Good). "Scarlet" turned out to be a million-dollar joke, but also a clever advertising coup. For weeks, the media in over 37 countries, excluding Switzerland, reported on the mysterious television project. Even the reputable industry service Internet Movie Database was taken in by the PR hoax and later even deleted its articles.
A real TV series producer, a fake trailer and a mysterious starlet are the ingredients that turned the Scarlet campaign into a spectacle and fooled millions of fans for weeks. The strategy behind the project was to give the new flat screen its own personality to make it stand out from other products. According to an article in the Wall Street Journal, the global launch campaign cost the electronics manufacturer LG around 100 million dollars. The investment can be described as the largest LG has ever made for a single product.
The "marketing hoax", as the American trade media called the fake, was the brainchild of the agency Agency.com and its TBWA subsidiary Tequila. The personification of a television set is a worldwide novelty and breaks the rules of all previous marketing efforts. With Scarlet, electronics manufacturer LG is consciously relying on the power of stories to strengthen the emotional bond with consumers.
The fact that LG is looking for long-term success with the series concept can be read in a press release from the South Korean company. The manufacturer wants to launch another episode of "Scarlet" and is rigorously aligning the design of the devices with the series. It remains to be seen to what extent LG will succeed in winning over consumers. No sales figures are yet known. For LG, the project is a necessary step to set itself apart from the competition. The majority of consumers are guided by price when buying a new device. "It has become a real challenge for TV manufacturers," said Kwan-Sup Lee, responsible for brand marketing at LG. "Flat screens are high-tech products for which consumers want to pay a low price. It is becoming increasingly difficult for us manufacturers to make a profit. Stories and a clear brand profile are the key to success."
The "Scarlet" fake started with a viral campaign at the beginning of the year. Rumors about the television project circulated on the Internet for three months. In the final weeks of the campaign, LG ran commercials on television worldwide. The director and actors gave interviews in the media and appeared at film premieres. The company was never mentioned. Only the red eye of the main actress, on which the trailer focused at the end, hinted at the LG logo. The movie ended with the sentence "Find out why things aren't what they seem". For many marketing managers, this was an incredible idea, considering that LG invested 35 percent of its marketing budget in "Scarlet" and the brand name was not mentioned once for months.
In addition to the extremely attractive Natassia Malthe in the leading role, who was seen in the video game adaptation "DOA: Dead or Alive" in the cinema in 2006, Hollywood director David Nutter was also teased. The director is a well-known figure in Hollywood. He has been involved in series such as Lost, The X-Files and Alias.
Surprisingly, the fake behind Scarlet remained hidden for a long time. The reactions are now more violent than the makers probably expected. Some consumers are expressing very negative opinions about the new TV set because they feel they have been taken for a ride by LG. For Kwan-Sup Lee, it is clear: "We are taking the risks to be different. But it is a necessary step. Even for me today, it is difficult to distinguish our own products from those of the competition." And Lee justifies the expenditure for this form of "non-traditional" advertising according to the motto "Any publicity is good publicity". LG, the third-largest manufacturer of flat screens behind Samsung and Sony, is coming under increasing pressure. Its competitors have recently increased their marketing budgets considerably.
Christian Lüscher