"We didn't want to just put up some posters".

"Heart Keeps Dancing" was released eight months ago. Despite great response from the public, there is no official music video yet. Is this gap part of the Samsung campaign?
No, but we used this gap. The song "Heart Keeps Dancing" was first launched only in Switzerland. For the international release, the matching music video was then to come.

What did James Gruntz think of the remix idea?
It's always tricky when you want to mess with a musician's sound. James, however, found the idea sensational from the start, went into the recording studio and recorded all the individual tracks and sound elements of the project himself.

It is positively noticeable that everything comes from a single source.
Exactly. That's why the users - to put it nastily - can't mess up the song at all, no matter what they add or take away. The range of sounds is extremely wide. The song is therefore a stroke of luck: it always remains good, no matter whether you mix it in the direction of electronic, funk or in a quieter corner.

The fact that Gruntz has in the meantime received an award on a national level is probably also convenient for the campaign ...
That he was awarded with the Artist Award and as "Best Breaking Act" at the Swiss Music Awards on February 27th - that really made him and us very happy. However, we had not expected or speculated on it ...

Clips from the campaign were already seen at the Swiss Music Awards. Will it eventually become an official music video?
No, but the official remix. In the attached competition, a jury including James Gruntz will select the best ten entries. These will be voted on in cooperation with Blick am Abend. The one with the most votes will appear as Gruntz's official remix on YouTube. The winner will receive a private concert by James, wherever he wants.

What were the biggest challenges during implementation?
On the one hand, convincing a client like Samsung to make such a brand experience the centerpiece of a campaign. Convincing a customer of something they can't exactly imagine what it will look like in the end is always problematic. Especially when you're doing things that no one has done before. On the other hand, it was an elaborate programming story to reconcile so many audio tracks, as each track has video footage behind it. And finally, the shortness of time - that's often the case with Samsung. The final phone usually comes very late, especially the info on what it can do, since usually several development teams are developing several devices. A lot of time passes until it is decided which one will be launched - which is, of course, missing for the development of the appropriate communication in the end.

The current campaign focuses on the GIF function ...
The Galaxy A series is mainly aimed at a young target group because it has many social and selfie features integrated, plus a GIF generator integrated into the camera for the first time. That is special, other smartphones did not have that yet. Because of that, we chose the GIF aesthetic. From that perspective, the challenge was to create a user experience that was right for the target audience - and to make that very experience the centerpiece of the campaign. We didn't want to just create banners and put up some posters.

The hype around animated GIFs has been going on for years - suddenly everyone wants to jump on it?
Yes, but strangely enough, GIFs are only now really catching on. And it's being hyped internationally by Buzzfeed etc. accordingly. But we didn't do it because of the hype, but because I've always thought it was a beautiful (moving) visual language that is extremely popular, especially with the target group. For example, you no longer answer WhatsApp messages with text, but with GIFs. GIFs now have a huge influence on kids' social lives, because they communicate almost exclusively via smartphone. Which is actually a bit scary (laughs). Our generation has grown into it, but for millennials it's normal. That's why it's no longer questioned. I, for example, am happy when I can turn off my smartphone for the weekend, that's a luxury for me.

Assuming this campaign works ...
... which we assume ... (laughs)

... then is Samsung planning to use this concept with other artists, perhaps abroad?
Not yet. Everyone is always skeptical at the beginning. Then, of course, when everything works, everyone has always known (laughs). If we can pursue the project, that would be great. In the meantime, we are being asked directly by musicians who have seen it whether we could also do "such things" with them. It's similar with the "Digital Unpacking" we just did for the Samsung Galaxy S6 launch. We get a lot of feedback from tech leaders who want to know, "Hey, how did you guys do that?" That's where it starts to get really fun again for me. I think right now is the best time to be an advertiser.

Why?
Because you can do things that no one else has done before - and you don't have to implement the hundredth poster idea.

Thanks to the technological possibilities?
Exactly. I have the feeling that in Switzerland, a perhaps rather older or more established generation of advertisers often complains about the times we live in. I did a lot of international and very classically driven work before I came to Switzerland, but I never had any fear of contact with the digital world. Which many others here have. As a creative, I actually think it's a must that you always turn to new things, be curious. Creatively, digital is a land of milk and honey where you can be really creative. And you can't do award fakes. Great digital ideas simply cost too much money and time to simply implement them.

What do you mean by award fakes?
Zombie campaigns made just for the awards. At Cannes and other awards, a lot of the winning work is fake. Simply to show how creative one could be. The client is informed of this, of course. I used to like to do that, too. But now I think if you win awards, it has to be an award for a real job where you had a briefing - and had to go the hard way to get the client excited about it. If you win another award for that, that's great - but not just to promote pseudo-creativity. That has nothing to do with creativity.

Interview: Thomas Häusermann

About the campaign (online contribution)