The Samsung India Service ad generated 150.3 million views, becoming the most watched ad on YouTube.

I got the update from this Marketing Land update and I’m not clear whether this was the most watched ad of November 2017 or the entire 2017 year. But that’s not the point of my this post.

First, watch the video…

//youtu.be/779KwjAYTeQ

The video shows a Samsung Service van driving through very rough terrains while the technician continuously reassures some “ma’am” that he is going to reach soon.

“Ma’am” needs a reassurance that he is going to reach before 7. He commits that he will. He and his van driver overcome multiple obstacles on a mountainous terrain.

She keeps calling and he keeps reassuring that he is going to reach on time.

Near to the climax we discover that “ma’am” is a young, visually impaired girl.

As soon as the technician realizes that, he has this wondering look, something like, why is she in a hurry to get her TV repaired, even when she cannot watch it?

The suspense keeps on building as he repairs the TV.

Finally, he is able to repair it and the young girl calls out to everybody in the house. Apparently it’s a hostel or a shelter for the blind. Young, smiling and laughing kids run into the TV room.

The girl asks for the TV remote, switches on the TV and there is this reality TV show, a singing competition, in which a blind girl is mellifluously singing a haunting Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan rendition.

It’s one of my favorites, so can’t resist putting it here for your pleasure…

//www.youtube.com/watch?v=cV7_YJf1BBw

The blind girl in the room very proudly tells the Samsung technician that the girl on TV is from there, and she is her best friend.

In content marketing we’re constantly talking about telling stories.

In this ad Samsung India, through a very touching story, tells how important giving such a service is, once people have invested in one of their products, and how seriously they take their customers.

They could have used the usual, run-of-the-mill advertising line showing a family in a metropolitan city having problems with their TV set and how Samsung Service quickly solves the problem.

Although this would have delivered the message, it wouldn’t have made the sort of impact that this ad makes.

How does the story make an impact?

• People should relate to it
• The storyline should be fluent and simple
• The core message should be clearly delivered without overtly expressed (in terms of advertising and content marketing)
• It should leave an imprint

Through this ad Samsung India Service successfully conveys that once you have purchased a Samsung appliance you are never on your own no matter where you are.

Through a single storyline the story manages to deliver the entire essence of Samsung India Service

• They provide after sales service everywhere, so people should be able to buy Samsung appliances anywhere.
• Their support staff and technicians are punctual.
• They have launched a Samsung India Service van that can easily travel to remote locations.
• The Samsung staff is committed and well-equipped.
• Samsung Service is a part of your life story.

An emotional angle is added by showing that the place where the service van is going is full of blind kids and one of the inmates has made it to the national TV through her talent despite having no vision.

The story-line does not want to arouse a feeling of pity by showing a house full of blind kids who are very cheerful and full of jest and enthusiasm.

This spirit also rubs onto the technician from Samsung who is initially a bit puzzled by all the excitement and all the blind kids running around and later on, although subtly, he understands why the TV needed to be repaired urgently.

This, should be the essence of content marketing – tell meaningful stories that don’t just convey the business message that you want to convey, but also touch people deeply in a manner that they remember you and they want to associate with you.