To launch the new Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 5 and its revolutionary ‘FlexCam’ technology –which makes hands-free selfies the new norm -we needed to connect with culturally with Gen Z.

Galaxy had a strong connection with the selfie having introduced the front-facing camera technology in 2011 and having taken the famous “Ellen Selfie” at the 2014 Academy Awards. However, Galaxy had a lesser connection with Gen Z in Australia (vs. key competitor Apple). So how could we use the FlexCam’s selfie-revolutionising technology to engage Gen Z with Galaxy?

We announced FlexCam by killing the selfie as Gen Z knew it. To lament the ‘Death of a Selfie’, we turned to the world’s style bible, Vogue, for a fitting send-off to say Farewell, Dear Selfie in a double-page ad promising “no more arm hogging ¾ of the screen; no more awkwardly squishing together, no more selfie-sticks.”

Cue the influencer tears.

We showed this loss of the selfie as we knew it through the portrait of a distraught and listless young woman. Soft and sombre lighting set the tone while an arrangement of flowers in the background, and the young woman’s funeral-attire, fashionably on-point, further symbolised a sense of mourning. We pushed the highlights to illuminate the teardrops running down her face and reddened her eyes to evoke a look of despair.

To the left of this cutting image was our long copy. Emulating a newspaper column, its justified text and serif font borrows from the styles and conventions of a traditional obituary. The viewer could see the young woman’s arm raised to take her final selfie, creating an image that’s strikingly different to how young women are usually depicted in ads.

A double-page spread with a touching obituary to this fallen icon. Death of the Selfie appeared in MIZ Vogue - a bespoke magazine specifically aimed at Gen Z that was distributed in print alongside Vogue in Australia in September 2023.

As Vogue Australia editor-in-chief Christine Centenera said: “In many ways, magazines are the flip side to the endless scroll of the internet. They offer a highly curated snapshot of people and ideas influencing culture right now in ways big and small. We believe the creatives featured in these pages are not only defining the current moment but shaping the years ahead.”

The magazine exceeded September distribution projections reaching 115,000 copies, including circulation to 5,000 Sephora stores, resulting in a readership of at least 475,000.

The print ad also sparked cultural conversation and contributed to the overall success of MIZ Vogue magazine, increasing brand favorability by 12%.