Samsung at the Paralympics: What's Your Problem? Sport Doesn't Care

Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd., the Worldwide Olympic and Paralympic Partner in the Wireless Communications Equipment category, today unveiled a compelling video campaign called “What’s Your Problem? Sport Doesn’t Care.” to honor the commitment and achievements of athletes competing in the Sochi 2014 Paralympic Winter Games.

Samsung’s Paralympic Games platform, “Sport Doesn’t Care”—which encourages people to view Paralympic Games athletes simply as athletes, and supports their tireless pursuit of dreams—debuted at the London 2012 Olympic Games and reached nearly 5 million people in its first two weeks online. 

This new, gritty campaign, created by 72andSunny Amsterdam, calls attention to the fact that we all have problems, but sport makes no distinctions. In the eyes of sport there is no ability or disability, all that matters is the energy and determination of athletes and that they give all to achieve their goals.

“Conversations around the Paralympic Games tend to focus on disability over athleticism,” explains Younghee Lee, Executive Vice President of Global Marketing, IT & Mobile Division at Samsung Electronics. “As a brand with a passion for sport, Samsung aims to make the dialogue more empowering, focusing on the courage and performance of athletes and encouraging participation. We believe this campaign will inspire more people to become engaged and involved in the Paralympic Games.”

Following a kick-off Manifesto film posted on February 20, today’s 90-second “What’s your problem? Sport Doesn’t Care” film captures intimate moments in the lives of five Samsung Galaxy Team Paralympic Games athletes along with an appearance by U.S. Paralympian Evan Strong. Documenting everything from the 5am wakeup calls and grueling workouts, to harsh weather and fear of failure, the piece depicts the myriad of trials faced by any top athlete.

Athletes featured in the films include:

- Jessica Gallagher – alpine skiing – Australia

- Seung-Hwan Jung – ice sledge hockey – Korea 

- Katarzyna Rogowiec – cross-country skiing and biathlon – Poland 

- Anna Schaffelhuber – alpine skiing – Germany 

- Evan Strong – Snowboard Cross – United States

- Greg Westlake – ice sledge hockey – Canada 

"I'm so excited to be involved with 'Sport Doesn't Care’, and I think that Samsung's commitment to the Paralympic movement is incredibly important. It calls much-needed attention to the fact that we as Paralympians are really not different from our Olympic Games counterparts -- we work just as hard and want to win just as much,” said Gallagher, a Paralympic Games alpine skier from Australia, and the country’s first woman to win a medal at the Paralympic Games. “I ski the same as any Olympian, I just use adaptive equipment to help negate my vision loss. Whether you're a top athlete or a young child just starting out, sport doesn't discriminate," she added. 

A third film set for release on March 7 explores the message from the perspective of Keira, a young athlete, aiming to inspire people of any age and ability to get involved with sport. 

Samsung is sharing all three of the films worldwide through YouTube, Facebook and Twitter, utilizing the #sportdoesntcare hashtag. 

CLIENT: SAMSUNG ELECTRONICS, CO, LTD.

CAMPAIGN: WHAT’S YOUR PROBLEM? SPORT DOESN’T CARE

Agency: 72andSunny Amsterdam

Executive Creative Director/Writer, 72andSunny: Carlo Cavallone

Creative Director/Designer, 72andSunny: Paulo Martins

Writer, 72andSunny: Yann Corlay

Designer, 72andSunny:  Wendy Richardson

Group Brand Director, 72andSunny: Caroline Britt

Senior Brand Manager, 72andSunny: Rebeccah Lowe

Brand Manager, 72andSunny: Hanna Petit

Film Producer: Eline Bakker

Senior Business Affairs Manager, 72andSunny: Madelon Pol, Nickie Stevens

Director of Strategy, 72andSunny: Stephanie Newman

Director of Communication Strategy, 72andSunny: Simon Summerscales

Client:

Director Global Partnership Marketing, IM Division, Samsung Electronics, Ltd: Hoon Kang

Assistant Manager, Olympic Partnership, Mobile Marketing Team, Samsung Electronics, Ltd: Katie Kim 

Assistant Manager, Olympic Partnership, Mobile Marketing Team, Samsung Electronics, Ltd: Dongmin Jung 

Production Company: Smuggler London

Director: Henry-Alex Rubin

Producer: Ramon Leakey

Director of photography: David Devlin

Edit House: Whitehouse Post London

Editor: Russell Icke

Assistant Editor: Iain Whitewright

Executive Producer: Lisa Kenrick

Post House: Glassworks Amsterdam

Executive Producer: Armand Weeresinghe

Colorist: Scott Harris

Lead Flame Artist: Morten Vinther

Flame artist: Kyle Obley

Flame artist: Urs Furrer

Flame artist: Bob Roijen  

Music Company: Madplanet London

Company Directors: Sam Morris and Dan Rodgers

Main Campaign film

Title track: ‘Winter’

Composer: Daniel Berridge

Publisher: Madplanet/Daniel&Berridge

Manifesto film

Title track: ‘Fierce&Light'

Composer: Andy Dragazis

Publisher: Madplanet/Andy Dragazi

Music License: Audionetwork London Keira film

Title track: Last Dance

Composer: Tim Garland

Publisher: Audionetwork Limited