As if your favorite binge watching the TV show were not enough of a religious experience, Samsung is leading to new heights with a promotion called "The catch-up Grant ." Conceived by DDB Stockholm, it will send one lucky winner of Thiksey, a Tibetan monastery in the Himalayas, more than two miles above the ground where he or she will get to watch TV for 100 days in the new SUHD Samsung with a 65-inch curved screen. (There is also a stipend, and home starts in November.)
"We thought it would be fun if you'd paid to watch TV, just like a job for an entire year," DDB creative director Daniel Mencák says in an interview. "But we realized people would just do stuff, so we decided it would have to be in a place where you could do anything else. And where the distractions of the world would be far, far away."
The contest is only open to people of Nordic nations, and runs through October 4. Eight finalists will be chosen based on video presentations on how many problems they are having keeping up with all the great TV outside. The final round in Stockholm will include polygraph tests to determine if candidates actually have been missing your favorite shows.
There will also eye exams, corrective lenses if necessary, to ensure the winner can enjoy a picture quality of Samsung SUHD in all its glory 4K. But mostly, participants will answer questions and a client-agency jury will make the final selection. Of course, DDB will document the process, including the stay mountain, so the whole world can see at your leisure watching.
Why a monastery? Mencák said other sites were considered lone-Siberia, a lighthouse, even a maximum security prison, but "they all lacked the spirit of the Tibetan monastery had." (Hmm, the prison has possibilities. Especially to catch up in orange is the new black or revisit Oz.)
Check out the promotional video:
