Watch this tear-jerker video by Samsung that shows a hearing impaired man going about his day as usual when suddenly, everyone he encounters begins using sign language. Muharrem, a man in Istanbul, Turkey with hearing loss, becomes pleasantly surprised as he begins his day walking down the street with his sister when a man uses sign language to simply say, “Good morning.” It was a simple gesture that was so unexpected that Muharrem actually turned to look back at the man.
Next, Muharrem and his sister are greeted at a bakery with an employee welcoming them using sign language saying, “We’ve got hot bagels,” using sign language. He smiles at his sister, clearly pleased at the social interaction that he is normally not exposed to. Then, at an outdoor area of a market, a shopper pretends to accidentally drop the fruit that he just purchased. Muharrem and his sister help him collect the dropped fruit. He signs his gratitude saying, “I’d like to offer you an apple,” with the gestures of his hands. Muharrem is now perplexed and asks his sister if she knows the man. Then, he asks her if he is hearing impaired. The video shows his day continuing while chance interactions, like an accidental bump, are met with sign language.
A team of people from Samsung and the Leo Burnett ad agency spent a month setting up cameras and teaching people throughout his neighborhood sign language. On the appointed day, Ozlem went for a walk with her deaf brother, who was stunned to meet so many signing people in a world where those who can communicate in sign are often few and far between.
The ad was designed to raise awareness about Samsung’s new call center for the deaf and hard-of-hearing in Turkey. It’s nice to see advertisements that can both raise awareness and make the world a better place.
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