John Hillcoat partners with Leo Burnett Chicago and MPC to create powerful holiday campaign for Samsung
The spot “Be Together”, which is part of the wider campaign “Do What You Can’t”, captures the simple yet powerful emotion of people, separated by necessity, using Samsung devices to connect with their loved ones during the holidays. It shows the reality that people’s lives and careers sometimes make it impossible to be present for important celebrations, but Samsung can help bridge that physical divide.
From a young woman teaching schoolchildren in Asia and video calling her parents back home during the holidays, to a climate researcher in the arctic using his phone to turn on his daughter’s holiday lights in her bedroom, each heartwarming moment perfectly demonstrates the importance of human connection.
Serial Pictures’ John Hillcoat directs the spot from Leo Burnett, with grade by MPC’s Mark Gethin. MPC also handled all VFX, including adding a glacial background and a fleet of penguins to the epic arctic scene containing the climate researcher. The VFX team combined live action shot elements into the stock footage of Emperor penguins, placing a high level of attention on lighting direction and the perspective of the live action plates. MPC’s Lead Flame Artist Andre Arevalo said: “We added a variety of elements to the arctic sequence to bring it to life, including matte painting, CG snow drifts and CG helicopter skids. These elements all created an authentic yet epic feeling.”
This campaign marks a continued partnership with John Hillcoat – MPC has previously worked with him on Toyota’s Super Bowl Spot “Mobility for All” and BMW “Relativity”, which were also graded by Mark Gethin.
Andre commented: “Working with John Hillcoat is an exciting prospect. The footage and moments he captured felt authentic and heartwarming, so it was our responsibility to maintain the aesthetic that he established.”
MPC has also worked with Leo Burnett on numerous high-profile spots including the award-winning Samsung “Ostrich”, which is also part of the “Do What You Can’t” campaign. MPC’s Creative Director Michael Gregory has led the VFX teams on both of these Samsung spots: “We’re delighted to be continuing our great partnership with Samsung and Leo Burnett.”
