http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2qv3rHFgX2A
There are marketing campaigns, and then there is this. To promote its new Galaxy S4 Zoom smartphone and Galaxy NX mirrorless camera, Samsung are going on a path never before tread by other electronics companies. Partnering with survival specialist Les Stroud, the Korean giants are going to hold social media Survivor-style reality series, where contestants will be competing for their very own private island.
The series will be called “SOS Island: Survival of the Smartest”, and sixteen initial contestants will be flown to the Caribbean before Stroud chooses the eight who will be flown to a secret island called SOS Island. There, contestants will participate in “survival challenges using the Galaxy S4 Zoom and Galaxy NX camera” – we’re not too sure what to make of that, honestly. Nevertheless, the series will be filmed and broadcast live on Facebook and YouTube, so we’ll find out soon enough.
“SOS Island” is not the first series of its kind, of course: take the social media and Samsung elements aside and you’ve got Survivor. In fact, the Mars One project features the same social media premise, albeit with a lot more ambition. More pertinently, Bear Grylls – arguably the more commercial of the survival celebrities – has his own survival reality series running in the US called “Get Out Alive“.
On the other hand, “SOS Island” is currently accepting applications from everyone around the world, with the only exception that they are able to enter the US. And of course, there’s the main prize of winning your very own private island – albeit with a slight catch. It is explained in detail in the FAQs, which also houses some tips on how to submit your applications – like other reality series, applicants need to submit a video application.
Find out more about SOS Island at its official website here.
