As Close as You Can Get

Read the campaign story

PRISM+ introduced a surreal interpretation of audiovisual immersion in its August 2023 Singapore brand campaign. Viewers do not merely watch entertainment; the films place them absurdly inside it. D&AD describes a concert execution in which a grandmother becomes part of the performance, while the campaign archive identifies a wider series spanning familiar screen genres. MullenLowe Singapore worked with Factory01, thequietlab and director Wuthisak Anarnkaporn.

Editorial interpretation: immersion is difficult to demonstrate accurately through someone else’s phone or television. The campaign therefore dramatises the feeling rather than presenting the advertisement as a technical test. The exaggerated physical closeness gives a broad benefit an immediate comic form. Different genres can carry the same idea while offering varied situations, keeping the campaign coherent without repeating exactly the same joke.

The films do not independently establish picture quality, sound performance or superiority over competing devices. Their impossible situations are fictional metaphors. The transferable lesson is to distinguish a memorable benefit story from the evidence needed for a purchase decision, then provide a clear route from entertainment to specifications, compatibility information and an appropriate real-world demonstration.

Choose a metaphor for the benefit, not for the technology label

Terms such as immersive can become empty when every competitor uses them. Ask what a customer actually wants to feel or do, then find a concrete image that expresses that experience. A metaphor should be easy to explain in one sentence and flexible enough to support more than one execution. Test whether people understand the intended benefit without being told the strategy. If they remember only an odd scene, strengthen the connection. The creative should make the proposition easier to grasp rather than use technical language as permission for unrelated spectacle.

Keep exaggeration visibly separate from product proof

Comedy can make an impossible situation obviously fictional, but nearby factual claims still need support. Review specifications, comparisons and demonstration conditions independently from the script. Do not imply that a digitally enhanced advertisement shows what every customer will see or hear at home. Provide ordinary information about room setup, device compatibility and what is included. Ask viewers what they believe the product can do after watching. If the metaphor creates a specific false expectation, revise the transition to the product rather than relying on the audience to infer an unstated disclaimer.

Build a series around one repeatable rule

A campaign can vary characters and genres while retaining a single creative principle. Write that principle down and use it to reject scripts that are funny but strategically unrelated. Decide which visual or verbal cues maintain brand recognition across edits. Test the shortest version as carefully as the longest, because the setup may disappear when media requires a cutdown. Include captions and versions that remain understandable without sound where appropriate. Consistency should make the second exposure easier to process, while variation gives people a reason to watch instead of feeling that they have already seen the entire idea.

A bounded test for another brief

Proposed adaptation: a small audio retailer could develop two original illustrated storyboards showing the feeling of being absorbed in a favourite radio drama, clearly labelled as imaginative advertising. Compare a metaphor-led version with a straightforward product-benefit explanation using the same accurate specification panel. Ask adults what the product promises and which questions they would need answered before purchase. Follow with an optional, safely controlled in-store listening session at reasonable volume. Do not imitate the campaign’s characters or visual jokes. The test checks whether entertainment improves benefit comprehension and encourages an informed demonstration, rather than treating a humorous reaction as proof of audio quality.

Measure correct benefit recall, false technical inferences, interest in a real demonstration, specification comprehension and reactions after listening. Separate story engagement from device performance and from incremental sales attributable to the campaign.

Do not use the fictional demonstration as technical evidence; revise if viewers infer unsupported capabilities or if the humour overwhelms the product proposition.