Update as of 12.38am on 21 January 2022
We found a copy of the deleted advertisement. You may watch it for yourself at this link and decide for yourself.
https://www.tiktok.com/@wakeupsingapore/video/7055324033646218497
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“Listen to your heart” was the message that the Samsung advertisement intended to convey. The short-lived advertisement a tudung-clad Muslim mother, and her son, a drag queen. Screenshots of the advertisement depict the duo in a tearful embrace.
The idea, or at least what we can gather from the remnants of the advertisement that remain online, was that the mother “listened to her heart” and expressed her “unflinching support” for her son. The mother is seen listening to a message from her son, who thanks her for supporting his passion for drag. The message ends with his son saying “Boy sayangkan mak (Son loves you), always.” The son then walks into the room and they hug.
https://www.tiktok.com/@wakeupsingapore/video/7055188049176612098?is_copy_url=1&is_from_webapp=v1
The mother and son were also featured in a separate video which formed part of Samsung’s Listen to your Heart series.
The products that the videos promoted, besides inclusivity and love, were noise-cancelling earbuds and a heart rate monitor. There may not have been increased sales of noise-cancelling earbuds, but there certainly was a lot of noise generated, and some unfortunate cancelling.
The videos were the subject of conservative outrage. Posts on anti-LGBT groups like “We Are Against Pink Dot” opposing the advertisement made references to ideas like “mainstreaming (sic) homosexuality“. Conservatives proved to be surprisingly adept at “cancel culture” as the advertisement, which many have not even seen or heard of before this, was removed from circulation.
Sometime on or around 5.00pm on 19 January 2022, Samsung pulled the plug on both videos, which were first published in November 2021.
In a brief public statement, Samsung re-affirmed it’s commitment to supporting diversity but stopped short of apologising. In respect of the advertisement, it acknowledged that it certain quarters perceived it to be “insensitive and offensive”.
Many online expressed regret over Samsung’s decision to ditch the advertisement. They took the view that Samsung should not have given in to the backlash, and that the mother’s unflinching love ought to have been celebrated, not cancelled. A common thread in the comments section was how a mother’s unconditional love should not offend anyone.
One commentator on Twitter shared that she knew that the advertisement would be cancelled almost immediately after she saw the advertisement.
National marathoner Soh Rui Yong also chimed in by lambasting the “typical cowardly management” at Samsung for “caving to the first sign of backlash“. The runner urged Samsung to stick to what it believes in. His sentiments were echoed by other social media users, who accused Samsung of failing to “stick to their guns.”
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