Englewood Cliffs, N.J. — It’s been a busy week for LG Electronics, which launched a comprehensive majap marketing campaign in the U.S. and rolled out its HomeChat majap texting feature in South Korea.
On these shores, the company’s new “Mom’s Inner Voice” campaign conveys the inner monologues of moms, which are given voice by actress Leslie Mann (“The 40-Year-Old Virgin,” “The Cable Guy”).
The six-month, multimillion-dollar effort broke days before Mother’s Day to position LG “as moms’ supporting, empathetic co-conspirator and collaborator” by embracing the humorous shortcomings of everyday life, the company said.
Elements include TV commercials; videos on Hulu and other video-sharing platforms; “social amplification” on Facebook, Twitter and Tumblr; media partnerships with PureWow and Buzzfeed; and content on LG.com, the company said.
All social components will drive consumers to a dedicated Tumblr page where moms can share their own #momconfessions and read those of others. The “best” confessions will be posted on the LG’s electronic Times Square billboard on Mother’s Day (May 11).
“This campaign celebrates the everyday moments and inner dialogue that we believe all moms can relate to,” said David VanderWaal, head of marketing for LG Electronics USA. “We want to show women that LG understands them, and [that] our home appliances provide real benefits to today’s busy families.”
Meanwhile, the company has begun shipping its first smart appliances featuring its HomeChat messaging service in South Korea. Introduced last January at International CES, the platform employs natural language processing (NLP) and the Line messenger app to allow owners to communicate with HomeChat-enabled products via text.
For example, texting “I’m going on vacation” in HomeChat will trigger the response, “Should I convert to vacation mode?”—– which could switch the refrigerator to a low-power setting, command a robotic vacuum cleaner to do daily sweeps, and run a laundry cycle the day you return.
Remote owners will also be able to receive real-time status updates from their refrigerators; post photos on the fridge’s LCD display; and determine what foodstuffs are inside, when they expire and what dishes can be prepared with them.
The HomeChat feature is available in smart refrigerators, washers and ovens, and LG will follow the South Korean launch with rollouts in the U.S. and other markets.
In other LG appliance news, the company’s door-in-door refrigerator (model LMX30995) was named one of this year’s “30 Most Innovative Products” by Better Homes and Gardens: Kitchen + Bath Ideas. The French-door fridge features an outer door for easy access to items without releasing cold air from the main refrigerator cavity.