In an exclusive interview, Yoon & Han, the creative minds behind Samsung’s groundbreaking Victory Selfie campaign, share their insights on revolutionizing Olympic traditions. As the world’s leading Olympic partner, Samsung sought to offer athletes a more personal and authentic way of celebrating their triumphs at the Paris 2024 Olympics. Victory Selfie, a campaign designed to allow athletes to capture and share their victory moments on their own terms, is more than just a marketing strategy—it’s a cultural shift in how we commemorate Olympic victories. Join us as we dive into the innovative journey of Victory Selfie and how it became one of the most memorable moments of the Games.
- What was the client’s brief for Victory Selfie?
Yoon & Han: Samsung has been a worldwide Olympic partner for over 30 years, continuously innovating the way technology enhances the Olympic Games experience. Over the years, the brand has evolved from simply providing cutting-edge mobile technology to creating cultural moments that deeply connect with athletes and fans.
The Paris 2024 Olympics marked a turning point, as the first large-scale Games after the pandemic. With excitement building up, all Olympic sponsors were launching high-profile marketing campaigns to capture global attention. In such a crowded space, Samsung wanted to stand out—not just with technology, but with a truly meaningful brand experience.
Instead of traditional advertising, the focus was on authenticity and emotional connection, particularly with younger audiences who value real, unscripted moments over staged promotions.
- What was the most important objective?
Yoon & Han: For over a century, Olympic athletes could only rely on rigid, official podium photographs, but we saw an opportunity to redefine this tradition in a way that felt more personal, emotional, and shareable. As the worldwide Olympic partner in Wireless Communications Equipment category, Samsung has always focused on enhancing how people connect and share their experiences, and Victory Selfie was a natural extension of this role.
Rooted in Samsung’s brand philosophy of ‘openness’, the initiative was designed to give athletes the freedom to capture and share their own victory moments on their own terms. Instead of rigid, official podium photographs, medalists were finally able to capture their triumph on their own terms, making Olympic victory moments more personal, authentic, and widely shared.
By integrating this experience into 267 Olympic and 44 Paralympic medal ceremonies, we didn’t just introduce a new feature—we set a new precedent for how victory is celebrated in the digital era, bringing the Olympic spirit closer to fans worldwide.
- What was the strategy behind the work?
Yoon & Han: To create a truly impactful Olympic campaign, we started by asking two fundamental questions: What is the most significant moment of the Games? And who are the most important figures?
While the Olympics feature countless highlights, the most emotionally charged and widely viewed moment is undeniably the medal ceremony, the culmination of years of dedication, sacrifice, and perseverance. It’s the defining moment where athletes validate their abilities on the world’s biggest stage, and it holds immense emotional and symbolic weight.
Naturally, the most important figures of the Games are the athletes themselves, the true protagonists of the Olympic story. But despite their significance, athletes were unable to document their own victory due to podium rules that prohibited personal belongings. This was a missed opportunity, especially considering the average athlete age is in their 20s – a generation that thrives on self-expression and sharing personal moments through selfies.
We saw an opportunity to bridge this gap by giving athletes ownership of their victory moments. To do this, we developed a custom Victory Selfie camera app, enabling athletes to capture their selfies, have them automatically categorized by sport, securely transmitted to IOC servers, and instantly downloadable for social media sharing. To ensure accessibility, Samsung provided a guide video for first-time Galaxy users and set up a selfie practice zone in the Olympic Village, helping athletes get comfortable with the experience before stepping onto the podium.
By introducing Victory Selfie, we gave athletes the freedom to capture and share their defining Olympic moments for the first time. This wasn’t just about technology, it was about reshaping a 100-year-old tradition to make it more relevant, personal, and engaging for a new generation.
Ultimately, the strategy behind Victory Selfie was about more than just marketing – it was about identifying the most powerful Olympic moment, putting the spotlight on the most important figures, and using technology to give them a voice. By doing so, Samsung didn’t just sponsor the Olympic Games, it reshaped how they are remembered.
- What was your biggest challenge along the way?
Yoon & Han: One of the biggest challenges was executing this campaign on a massive scale while ensuring that every athlete, regardless of background or tech familiarity could participate effortlessly. With Victory Selfie integrated into 28 Olympic venues and 267 victory ceremonies, along with 2 Paralympic venues and 44 victory ceremonies, we had to create an experience that was intuitive, universally accessible, and seamlessly embedded into the Olympic protocol.
Another key challenge was maximizing the visual impact of the Victory Selfie moments. Since these podium selfies weren’t just personal keepsakes but also broadcasted globally, we collaborated with volunteers, staff, and Olympic broadcasters to ensure that the angles were optimized for LED displays and live camera coverage. This strategic coordination made every Victory Selfie moment not only a personal celebration but also a visually striking and memorable highlight of the Games.
Introducing a new cultural shift to a century-old Olympic tradition required careful execution. The podium ceremony has long followed strict protocols, so integrating a new element allowing athletes to take selfies in such a formal setting needed to feel organic and natural rather than forced. To achieve this, we ensured that athletes genuinely embraced the experience, making it more than just a marketing activation. It became an authentic and widely shared Olympic moment.
Ultimately, the challenge went beyond technological integration. It was about designing an experience that felt smooth, intuitive, and emotionally resonant. Athletes had to instinctively want to participate, while audiences worldwide needed to find the moment both engaging and inspiring.
- What does success look like for this campaign?
Yoon & Han: Victory Selfie became one of the most memorable moments of the Paris 2024 Olympics, transforming how athletes celebrate their victories. The campaign saw participation from over 1,000 medalists across hundreds of Olympic and Paralympic victory ceremonies, replacing rigid, traditional podium photos with authentic, joyful selfies.
Athletes eagerly embraced the opportunity to capture and share their own triumphs, driving massive organic engagement and widespread media coverage worldwide. The initiative resonated deeply not only with the athletes but also with global audiences, as these unfiltered moments of joy were featured in Olympic broadcasts and across social media.
One of the most powerful highlights was when athletes from South Korea and North Korea stood together for a Victory Selfie, symbolizing unity and harmony on the world’s biggest stage. This emotional and historic moment reinforced Victory Selfie as more than just a campaign, it became a defining cultural movement of the Games, amplifying Samsung’s role as a brand that transforms traditions through innovation.
- What did you learn from creating Victory Selfie?
Yoon: Personally, working on this project made me realize how powerful it is when technology aligns seamlessly with real human emotions. We weren’t just showcasing a product; we were giving athletes the ability to own their victory, to capture their triumph on their own terms, and to share it with the world in a way that felt real and personal. Seeing their unfiltered emotions in each Victory Selfie, the joy, the tears, and the pride, made it clear that this was about more than just marketing—it was about creating something deeply meaningful.
This campaign also taught me an important lesson. The best brand experiences are the ones that feel effortless, intuitive, and truly valuable to the people engaging with them. The success of Victory Selfie showed that when a brand’s actions align with its core philosophy, in Samsung’s case, openness, innovation, and meaningful connectivity, it doesn’t just create visibility. It creates genuine impact. Moving forward, I believe this project has set a new benchmark for how Samsung can continue to blend technology, culture, and human emotion to craft experiences that resonate far beyond the moment.
Han: The Victory Selfie perfectly captures the spirit of our time with the current trend of self-expression and the advancements in smartphone technology. It’s become completely natural to want to document important moments such as standing on an Olympic podium with a smartphone. Reflecting this spirit of times, the project broke away from a century-old tradition where athletes couldn’t keep personal photos from the Olympic podium. When we allowed athletes to take selfies, we immediately saw their enthusiastic response. I realized that reflecting the zeitgeist is a crucial element in creating a successful campaign.
- Is this your first time at ADFEST?
Yoon & Han: Yes.
- What was the most insightful thing you’ve learned from the festival?
Yoon: One of the most insightful things I learned from ADFEST 2025 was the value of creative collisions—how the most groundbreaking ideas emerge when different perspectives, disciplines, and cultures intersect. The theme Collide really resonated throughout the festival, as many sessions emphasized that in today’s landscape, creativity doesn’t exist in a vacuum. The most powerful work often comes from unexpected collaborations—between AI and human creativity, technology and emotion, brands and communities, or even between seemingly opposing viewpoints.
Another key takeaway was how embracing friction can lead to innovation. Instead of avoiding challenges or differences, the best campaigns leaned into tension, contrast, and diversity to create work that felt fresh, provocative, and deeply relevant. Seeing how brands successfully collided with culture, technology, and real-world issues reminded me that creativity thrives on disruption. It’s not about playing it safe but about allowing ideas to challenge, evolve, and push boundaries in ways that create real impact.
Han: I was very inspired at ADFEST. I usually prefer simple and intuitive expressions. This is because I believe that the ability to make complex things look simple is an idea that anyone can understand. These ideas are also convincing. However, it is not easy to come up with such an idea.
Attending the ADFEST sessions, I realized how much thought and deep insight were behind, even though it seemed simple on the surface. I was able to learn the fierceness hidden in their thoughts contained in simple expressions and ideas for everyone.
- How did you end up being an account executive/art director?
Yoon: I’ve always been drawn to the intersection of strategy, creativity, and communication. My journey started with a deep interest in understanding what makes people connect with brands—whether it was through compelling storytelling, innovative experiences, or breakthrough campaigns. That curiosity led me to explore the world of advertising, where I realized that great creative work isn’t just about ideas. It’s about collaboration, problem-solving, and execution.
As I gained experience, I found that my strengths aligned well with the role I’m in now. Whether it’s working closely with clients to bring their vision to life or collaborating with creative teams to push ideas further, I love the challenge of turning insights into impactful work. Every project presents a new opportunity to learn, adapt, and contribute to something meaningful, which is what keeps me passionate about what I do.
Han: In college, I dreamed of a job that creates various visual results. Looking back now, I think it was the right decision to choose the path of an art director. I don’t think there are many jobs where you can express and experience everything from film to space and even small details in a variety of ways under one theme. As an art director, I am very satisfied with the various tasks I can do.
- What piece of work are you most proud of? Please describe them and explain why.
Yoon: It would have to be the Paris 2024 Olympic Games project. It was an incredibly special experience, not just because of its global scale, but because of the energy, passion, and Olympic fever I had the chance to witness and be a part of.
While Victory Selfie was a major highlight, I also had the opportunity to plan and execute various promotional activities, including showcase operations and brand activations that truly brought the Olympic spirit to life. Seeing people engage with these experiences, feeling their excitement as they immersed themselves in the Games, and witnessing how our work enhanced their Olympic journey made this project deeply meaningful.
Unlike typical brand campaigns, this wasn’t just about advertising. It was about creating moments that allowed people to connect with the Games in a more personal and interactive way. Contributing to that, while working alongside an incredible team, was both exciting and rewarding. It was truly a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to be part of something bigger—something that left a lasting impression not only on the audience but also on me.
Han: The Galaxy Unpacked Event is a very important event where Samsung showcases its new products to the world. Everything must be perfect and attractive. Through the Unpacked project, I was able to solidify the basics that I need as an art director, such as work process and way of thinking.
The Galaxy Experience Space is a pop-up store that takes place after the Unpacked Event, which was a whole new challenge for me. Beyond film and stage design, I had to consider parts that I had not previously considered, such as customer movements, length of stay, and elements of experience.
I am proud of all the projects I’ve worked on with my team. The Galaxy Unpacked taught me the basics and the Galaxy Experience Space broadened my horizons. These two projects were a valuable opportunity to learn essential competencies for creators: attitude and thought process necessary for work.
As we wrap up, it’s clear that Victory Selfie is a campaign that transcends advertising. It’s about empowering athletes to capture their own moments of victory and share them with the world in a way that feels authentic and personal. With this groundbreaking initiative, Samsung has redefined how the Olympic Games are experienced and remembered, blending technology, culture, and emotion seamlessly. We thank Yoon & Han for sharing their invaluable insights, and we look forward to seeing how they continue to shape the future of brand innovation and human connection.
