Ozzy Says: Samsung Branded Music App Needs More

Posted By Joe Pulizzi on December 14, 2008

Really interested in Samsung’s choice of Ozzy Osbourne for their launch campaign of the new Propel.  The Prince of Darkness can be found on a few commercials these days for the Samsung Propel phone, in which Ozzy encounters a number of people who can’t understand him (so he needs to use Propel to text).

In addition to the commercials, Samsung took the program online with the "Ozzy Said What?" feature on their home page. Just listen to a quick video of Ozzy speaking, and you can try to guess what he says through their Qwerty keypad.

Okay, not bad, and since almost everybody understands the “Ozzy can’t speak proper English” thing, you get it right away.  That said, this program could and should be so much more.  Here are a few thoughts for Samsung:

• Series of articles/videos on important calls that went the wrong way and how texting could have altered the future.
• How texting/the Propel increases productivity, and thus, happiness.
• “Text Test” – Go to local malls and have shoppers see how fast they can text with the Propel versus other leading brands. Get it on video and share it.  Could have local “text offs” around North America.
• Complete a Propel survey and get a free Ozzy ringtone or Ozzy video download.
• Give Ozzy a Propel Twitter Account (this could be outrageous).

These are just a few, but when you have a revered brand such as Ozzy's, and you use it for just a commercial and essentially an online video, it seems like a wasted opportunity.