The Selfie that Surprised Samsung?

Samsung claims that the selfie seen ’round the world — featuring Ellen DeGeneres and a swarm of the brightest molars ever gathered in one room — was completely unplanned!  Utterly spontaneous!  A total (though welcome) surprise to everyone at the brand!  And you believe that, there’s a Friendship Bridge between North and South Korea they’d like to sell you, too.

Truth is, it might have been improvisation on Ellen’s part; the rest of the evening certainly seemed to have an air of improvisation goin’ on.  Pizza?  Really?  At the Oscars?  Carson and Hope are spinning.  But there’s improvisation, and then there’s guided improvisation, like when a Second City performer asks the audience to shout out words or situations.  Or when the sponsor suggests that maybe there’s a chance to work their shiny new phablet into your uproarious emcee monkeyshines, Ellen?

The exposure worked out for them, but let’s not pretend there wasn’t an element of calculation behind it all.  Consumers are too smart to not understand that when a brand spends mondo bucks sponsoring ABC’s coverage, that when any branded product shows up in the hands of nearly anyone on their screens, there’s money or consideration changing hands.  Better for Samsung to say, “You bet we wanted her to flog that thing in front of billions!” and take credit for the star’s (and staff’s) ingenuity.

The fact Ellen went backstage and snapped off and posted her own personal Oscars pix using an iPhone pretty much undermines any argument that what happened out front wasn’t part of a sponsorship/placement deal.

If the stunt had been a hair too hamfisted, or corny, or attempted by the wrong presenter (James Franco in a dress, for instance), it would have fallen flat — and Samsung’s denials would have been viewed very cynically.  That’s the danger with any P.R. or activation stunt, and when a brand shrugs its shoulders and acts disengaged from the act, it makes it worse in the minds of consumers: it makes them seem untrustworthy.

The fact it was a hit and a viral phenomenon, carried off by one of TV’s most likable personalities, makes those concerns a moot point…but if I was Samsung, I’d be trying to cop at least a little more of the credit for an entertainment activation strategy that worked out beautifully.