Samsung’s UK #TVblackout campaign extends to OOH

The brand famous for its innovative campaign leaves the Piccadilly Circus and cinema screens blank to introduce its new QLED TV set

The UK is getting ready for TVs, digital displays and cinema screens across the country to switch off as Samsung rolls out an advertising campaign that interrupts scheduled ad breaks with several seconds of ‘TV blackout’.

The disruptive campaign is designed to trick viewers into thinking their TV has been ‘switched off’, thus highlighting the default status of the TV in the home while it is not in use. The darkness ends, with text emerging: “This is your TV screen… most of the time; a void full of nothing.” The adverts further go on to explain that Samsung QLED TVs boast an ‘Ambient Mode’, which allows TV sets to blend in with their surrounding interior design, or display imagery when not in use, meaning that consumers need never see the void again.

Along with the mainline advertsing, the #TVblackout campaign also takes over digital displays at the iconic Piccadilly Circus, as well as interrupting the famous Pearl and Dean theme tune during the adverts before cinema screenings of “Solo: A Star Wars Story”.

This isn’t the first time that UK viewers have been targeted by Samsung’s innovative campaigns. In November last year, Samsung premiered Washing Machine: The Feature Film at London’s Leicester Square, which layered a dramatic original score by celebrated composer Michael Nyman over the filming of a 66-minute family wash cycle. The unique project built upon the impact of a 3 min 20 sec advert featuring a QuickDrive™ wash cycle, which was broadcast during a complete ad break takeover of one of Britain’s most popular TV programs.