`Secret' of `Scarlet' revealed
LOS ANGELES (AP) - April 29, 2008 When it came time to pitch its new series of slimmer-than-slim
LCD flatscreen TVs, LG Electronics opted to coyly offer "Scarlet"
as "a new TV series" from director David Nutter, whose credits
include "The Sopranos," "Smallville" and "Terminator: The
Sarah Connor Chronicles," instead of pointing out screen size and
pixel resolution to potential buyers.
The big-budget advertising campaign, conceived by LG global
brand marketing vice president Kwan-Sup Lee and a team of
advertising and marketing agencies, stars model-actress Natassia
Malthe as the sexed-up, butt-kicking, red-eyed heroine "Scarlet."
There's no mention of LG - or even a prominent image of the TV
itself - in the advertising materials or commercials.
"To be honest, the most difficult thing for me on this campaign
was to convince myself and my bosses to really own this idea,"
says Lee. "To spend money without letting people know about our
brand is really, really risky, right? But that's the idea of this.
We need a breakthrough idea to change the rules of the game."
Risky, sure. Isn't it also just plain sneaky?
"We're obviously trying to fool people, but it's done in a fun
and engaging sort of way," says Tim Alessi, LG director of product
development and advertising.
Billboards for "Scarlet" began popping up in cities like
Paris, Los Angeles and Singapore about a month ago while
commercials and online ads began appearing on sites like Gawker,
Variety and E! Online as early as two weeks ago. They all led
viewers to ScarletSeries.tv, a site that features a high-impact
movie-like trailer.
LG officially announced Scarlet's identity at a ritzy
invitation-only Hollywood party attended by celebs such as Lindsay
Lohan, Milo Ventimiglia, Paris Hilton and Tila Tequila at the
Pacific Design Center on Monday night. The company won't say how
much it has spent on the global campaign, although Alessi confirms
it was millions more than a typical product launch in the U.S.
The movie-like online trailer for "Scarlet," which was shot in
Bangkok, sees Malthe strutting down a red carpet, performing
martial arts moves and walking away from an exploding building.
"I'm gonna put her in every home in the planet," a suited guy
foreshadows. At the end of the clip, an announcer teases, "Things
aren't always what they seem."
It's not the first time marketers have used online subterfuge
for promotional purposes. However, such tricky tactics are usually
reserved to publicize entertainment properties such as actual TV
shows ("Lost") and movies ("Cloverfield") rather than products
available on store shelves.
The nontraditional campaign hasn't exactly ignited "Scarlet"
fever online. With no mention of a TV network in the ads, Internet
rumblings quickly turned to trying to figure out exactly what was
being sold in the "Scarlet" campaign. Shampoo? Clothes? Cameras?
Some folks figured out the big secret, while others remained in the
dark.
"Looks like it could be a good series," one YouTube user
posted.
"This feels fake to me," wrote someone else.
"I think that's terrible to trick people to sell something,"
said someone on Yahoo! Answers.
---
On the Net:
Scarlet:
http://scarletseries.tv
