Samsung presents 'SOS Island: Survival of the Smartest' Reality TV meets social media in online live-stream competition

TV star Les Stroud teams up with Samsung in a competition highlighting Samsung GALAXY S4 zoom and GALAXY NX

SEOUL, Korea - August 5, 2013 - Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd. today announced the ‘SOS Island: Survival of the Smartest’ campaign, an interactive live-stream survival competition.

TV star and survival expert Les Stroud will train 16 global contestants for their best hope at surviving the competition at the center of the survival series. It will be shot and live-streamed from the remote “SOS Island” in the Caribbean. Viewers will vote for a winner from the comfort of their PCs and smart phones. The last remaining contestant wins the grand prize: their own island.

“This will be a really big adventure for the contestants and the online fans,” Les Stroud said. “Samsung combines cutting edge media trends and platforms with a subject I am most passionate about — survival. Samsung is paving the way for how brands produce and share content that reach audiences across the globe.”

The contestants will face rigorous challenges on SOS Island demonstrating the photographic capabilities of Samsung’s GALAXY S4 zoom smartphone and GALAXY NX camera. They will share the images direct from their devices to the Samsung Camera Facebook page while trying to outsmart the competition, win the most votes and be crowned ‘The Smartest’ later this year.

“It's an ambitious project but one that will surely not be forgotten,” said Craig Borders, the visionary producer and director behind such genre defining series as ‘The Mole’, ‘Laguna Beach’ and ‘Ink Master’. “People crave new entertainment experiences and this series is sure to deliver, while tapping into the social media realm in an unprecedented way. This interactive, instant gratification entertainment model is a game changer.”

HyeonKoo Lee, director of global marketing, IT & Mobile Communications Division, Samsung Electronics, said, “We’re thrilled to be working with Craig Borders and Les Stroud to develop an exhilarating survival-based competition. The campaign will showcase the distinctive and powerful capabilities of our GALAXY S4 zoom and GALAXY NX with live stream entertainment and social media sharing.”

‘SOS Island’ will broadcast on YouTube and Facebook from September 30th to November 31st, 2013. Audience members can vote for their favorite contestants via Twitter, Facebook and Instagram. The ultimate winner will be announced December 9th and be awarded the opportunity to win their own private island experience, a package worth $100,000 U.S. dollars.

Global casting for SOS Island will run from August 5th to September 2nd and be led by casting director Vinnie Potestivo and Samsung. For more information on “SOS Island: Survival of the Smartest” campaign and how to apply, please visit www.sos-island.com.

- Campaign page : www.sos-island.com

- Samsung Camera Facebook : www.facebook.com/samsungcamera

- Samsung Camera YouTube : www.youtube.com/samsungcamera

- GALAXY NX Microsite : http://www.samsung.com/global/microsite/galaxycamera/nx/

- GALAXY S4 zoom Microsite : http://www.samsung.com/global/microsite/galaxycamera/s4zoom/

About Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd.