Director Tal Zagreba’s comedic new Samsung campaign speaks to anyone who has experienced the frustration of starting the washing machine, only to discover a stray item they’ve forgotten to add. Creatively devised by Leo Burnett Israel, produced by Kaski Productions, and co-produced by Great Guns, the playful film highlights Samsung’s innovative new line of washing machines featuring AddWash technology, allowing people to add laundry mid-cycle.

The campaign follows a father who, after putting one final load of clothing in the wash, celebrates finally reaching the bottom of the laundry basket. Fantasising about becoming a world-renowned celebrity for such a rare achievement, the dad journeys through a wicker basket tunnel into a world in which he is media sensation. He signs fans’ own laundry baskets, appears on the red carpet for the ‘Bottom of the Basket’ film premiere, and becomes immortalised in the ‘Laundry Fighter’ arcade game. It is only when his daughter appears that he is brought back to reality, as she presents a forgotten item to put in the wash. All is not ruined, however, as the father is able to add this last piece in with Samsung’s AddWash feature, letting him see the bottom of the basket for a little longer.

Director Tal Zagreba comments: “When the guys at Leo Burnett call me, I know that creative freedom is the name of the game. It is beyond a pleasure to work with them every time, as we are all of one mind and constantly pursuing the best creative results. In addition, Kaski Productions did a magical job of making everything happen above expectations and fulfilling our creative desires against all odds.”

The director combines a medley of styles in the film, seamlessly combining live action with retro arcade game animation, red carpet event coverage, and a mobile phone camera perspective as a fan gets snapped in front of a magnificent ‘King of Laundry’ statue.

Speaking on the variety of styles used in the campaign, Tal says: “Luckily, I was privileged to work once again with my long-time collaborator and true friend, Robert Moreno, who is responsible for every aspect of the post production including classic animation, matte painting, 3D, compositing, colour grading and even storyboard. Collaborating with Robert is always fun, as we love to challenge ourselves and aim high.”

Credits
Brand: Samsung, Israel
Campaign: The man who got to the bottom of the laundry basket
Ceo: Adam Polachek
Creative Agency: Leo Burnett Israel
Copywriter: Oren Ben Naim, Harel Livne
Art Director: Meital Miller
Chief Creative Officer: Ami Alush
Creative Director: Elad Gaizler
Account Executive: Asaf Fish
Marketing Director: Eva Hasson
Agency Producer: Oren Ben Naim, Harel Livne
Production: Roy Kaski
Chief Account Officer: Idit Zukerman
Social Account Manager: Ronny Dimnik
Strategic Planner: Liz Stull
Director: Tal Zagreba
Account Supervisor: Sapir Aharoni

How do you recount the story of the Holocaust to today’s youth in a way that will make them sit up and listen? You grab them by the guts on the right medium.
Meet @eva.stories – a first-person account of Nazi persecution.

Eva Heiman, a 13-year-old girl from Hungary who perished in Auschwitz, left a diary describing the last months of her life. In preparation of the Holocaust Remembrance Day, her diary will be adapted into more than 50 Instagram stories depicting her life which will be published every 30 minutes on @eva.stories Instagram page set up especially for this purpose.

Imagine what would have happened if the Jewish kids who lived during the Holocaust had had a smartphone, social networks and could have documented what was going on? That was the starting point for ‘Eva’s Stories’ – a unique new Instagram series which will for this year’s Holocaust Remembrance Day, over a period of 24 hours, issue a new story every 30 minutes documenting the life of Eva Haiman, a 13-year-old girl from Hungary who perished in Auschwitz, and left her diary behind.

When the Nazis invaded Hungary in 1944, Eva Heiman was a 13-year-old girl living in the town of Nagyvarad. She began to write a diary on her birthday, February 13th, 1944 and stopped on May 30th, 1944 – just three months later and three days before she was deported by train to Auschwitz, where she perished.

75 years later, her story has been adapted into a special film project produced and created by hi-tech entrepreneur Matti Kohavi and his daughter Maya, who invested millions of dollars in the project. To do that, they adapted Eva’s personal diary into a screenplay and together with a team of 400 production people, actors and extras, they reconstructed Eva’s life and filmed it in Lviv Ukraine.

“We took the diary and actually translated it into a full 70-minute film,” Mati Kochavi explains. “It is one of the biggest projects that Instagram has ever done.” We asked ourselves what would happen if Eva, instead of a pen and paper for writing a diary, had a smartphone and Instagram. That’s when we decided to shoot the entire film with a smartphone or a camera that simulates the smartphone, with the girl always holding the camera, and the entire film being shot from her perspective”. Kochavi adds that “the idea was to build the environment in which Eva lived and supposedly photographed what she was sending to her friends.”

Eva’s story will be recounted on the special Instagram page set up in her memory for Holocaust Memorial Day. During 24 hours, her life will be brought to life through still images, text passages and stories that will let the audience bear witness to events that took place during the last months of her life – from getting to know her family and friends, through to the Nazi invasion of her city, the uprooting from the house, move to the ghetto, violence and torture she survived, right up to her boarding the train to Auschwitz.

When asked Maya Kochavi said: “The stories will turn Eva from a nameless face into a colorful, lifelike and relevant figure that tells about of her life and what’s happening in it in much the same way millions of people around the world today document their everyday lives”.

Working with Leo Burnett Israel to get the word out, the campaign launched with billboards and a teaser trailer video “What if a girl during the Holocaust had Instagram?” and influencer activation strategy. Within hours it sparked a nationwide conversation and @eva.stories Instagram page became the first commercial Instagram page in Israel to organically gather over 120.000 followers in a week. While over 1,000 influencers and Israeli celebrities have already posted about Eva’s Stories, the real win so far is to see the number of youngsters who have signed up to the page and are for the first time discussing Holocaust Day ahead of time.

So when does the page kick-off for real? On May 1st. Posts will appear every 30 minutes until 10:00 AM on May 2nd the time at which the siren will sound and people all over Israel will stand still for a one minute of silent remembrance. Time at which we will also air Eva’s last story – right before she was shipped off to Auschwitz, never to return.

Credits
Screenplay: Maya Kochavi & Mati Kochavi
Direction: Mati Kochavi & Mayv Kochavi
Executive producers: Mati Kochavi & Yona Wiesental
Production company: Pov Productions, Color film
Producers: Neta Karni & Hadar Albaranes&Liat Lehavi
Dop: Lael UtnikLine
Producer & 1st AD: Shabtai Itzhak Eden
Editor: Arik Lahav Leibovich
Research: Dr. Liran Gordon
Client: K’s Galleries

Agency credits:
Agency: Leo Burnett Israel
CEO: Adam Polachek
VP Creative: Ami Alush
Chief Client Director: Idit Zukerman
Creative Team: Oren Ben Naim, Meital Miller
Account Supervisor: Orian Liber
Account Manager: Reut Frid
Studio Manager: Sagi Valenstain
Media: Publicis Media
Marcom: Eva Hasson

PR Company: Debby Group communications

Influencer outreach: C – the branded CONTENT agency
CEO: Erez Bergbaum
Head of Influencers Marketing: Adi Tusia Cohen

Working together with the “Pitchon Lev” soup kitchen* –the country’s largest soup kitchen which services over 250.000 Israelis each year with food products and basic needs – Samsung has pledged to match each calorie burnt with a similar calorie-rich food product it will donate on runners’ behalf to the organization.

So if you take into account that a normal person weighing 75 kilograms would probably complete the 42-kilometre marathon in just under four hours – we’re talking about burning close to 4000 calories multiplied by at least 40.000 participants – that’s the rough equivalent of 320.000 meals!

How will Samsung manage it? Well, runners will be outfitted with a special calorie counting band and to show people at all times how many calories have already been raised and burnt, the company will set up a live calorie counter on Rabin Square – Tel Aviv’s central square right opposite the town hall. On Marathon day, runners crossing the finish line will be directed to a branded compound where besides getting a personal video of their run – they will be invited to choose the food products that match the number of calories they burned and compile the food package that will be donated on their behalf.

But that’s not all. To amplify Samsung’s effort, the company will be setting up Samsung Calories Stations at high traffic density spots and shopping malls throughout the country– where people will be invited to run on treadmills and add their burnt calories to the general ‘burnt calories’ count. An activity that will allow people to donate their calories once, twice or more.

The way we see it, the Samsung Calories Marathon means one thing: Run. Burn. Feed. Repeat.

Credits:
Agency: Leo Burnett Israel
Client: Samsung Israel
Campaign: Samsung Calories Marathon | Samsung Calories Stations
CEO: Adam Polachek
CCO: Ami Alush
VP Client Services: Idit Zukerman
VP Strategy: Shai Nissenboim
Strategic Planner: Liz Stull
Creative Team: Oren Ben Naim, Meital Miller
Account Supervisor: Sapir Aharoni
Account Manager: Gal Teitel Ram
Producer: Simi Ben Zikri
Studio Manager: Sagi Valenstain
Traffic: Maya Varochik
Marcom: Eva Hasson
Media: Publicis Media
Director: Tal Zagreba
Animation Director: Robert Moreno
Animation Production: Robert Moreno
Co-Production: Great Guns
Co-Producers: Laura Gregory, Sheridan Thomas
Storyboard: Robert Moreno
Concept Art: Tim Razumovsky, Niv Shpigel, Robert Moreno
2D Animation: Robert Moreno, Niv Shpigel, Naama Zarfaty, Alon Richter, Guy Shimron, Guy Osnat
Clean Up Ink & Paint: Naama Zarfaty, Ori Anne Hail
Original Music & Sound Design: Roy Shen Zoor – Monster Music