The stars align for Samsung

Something of a coup for Samsung at the Oscars® yesterday. Ellen Degeneres' 'selfie' with the hottest stars didn't just go viral - According to Ellen 'we broke Twitter'. (2.7 million shares - beating the previous record, held by Obama's re-election 'Four more years Tweet -) Of course it wasn't dumb luck. Samsung's presence on the night came with a hefty price tag and anchored a new global campaign - One Samsung - that showcases a range of the Korean company's innovative consumer electronics products. Apple should be looking over their shoulder - they seem to be bing photobombed by Samsung that has a lively energy that Apple has lacked since Steve Jobs' sad demise.

If you ever doubted the power of product placement - this image should be a note to selfie - it's spontaneous and unscripted - but carefully stage managed. Most importantly it is a shareable social artifact. We share selfies with our friends. Celebrities share selfies with us - therefore they are our friends (is a celebrity selfie a celfie?). Well, in the reality distortion field of social media and celebrity anyway.

Maybe the lesson is that brands have to let us in. Cold and remote is beaten hands down by warm and intimate.