Ogilvy & Mather, and the Product Demo Video That Will Have You on the Edge of your Seat

How does a telecommunications giant, such as Qualcomm, create a demo video for their chipset, Snapdragon, that consumers actually want to watch? It's not so easy. In this day and age, no one watches anything if there isn't something in it for them. With so many ways to avoid advertising, certainly something as bland as a demo video can go by the way-side. Mark Himmelsbach (President, Content + Social at Ogilvy North America), speaks to the notion that advertisers need to be more savvy about what sort of content resonates with viewers when he said this, "You can't interrupt people anymore. You have to contribute to their experience."

Which is exactly what Ogilvy & Mather did when Qualcomm tasked the agency with creating this piece of content. The results were astounding. Writer/Director, Armando Bo, tells the story of a man in Shanghai, who awakes to find his girlfriend mysteriously gone one morning. Using her smartphone, he unfolds a plot far bigger than he could have imagined. Through this dark thriller, features of the smartphone chipset, Snapdragon, are key plot-points in this roller coaster of a story.

"We think that content itself, needs to be entertaining or useful." says Himmelsbach. Well, check and CHECK. "Lifeline" is not only one of the most entertaining and gripping pieces of branded content you will see this year, it's also one of the most informative. We see a lot of content marketing around the landscape, these days; Whether it be an influencer integrating a brand partner into their weekly videos, or brands creating original short-films or a digital series in the hopes of brand lift and consideration. However, taking a brief from a technology company to execute on a demo video, and "flipping it on it's head", as Himmelsbach puts it, that is something you just don't see everyday.

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