The Internet Is Losing It Over Samsung's Cut Mascot
Look, sometimes people just want to kiss fictional characters — including video game mascots — no matter how awkward that might be in execution. Samsung's rejected mascot, Sam, isn't a video game character per se, but she's animated, cute, and the internet apparently believes she's pretty kissable.
Fans have begun posting thirsty fan art, videos, and tons of other questionable content online after Lightfarm Studios revealed that it once created an avatar for a Samsung digital assistant. Lightfarm, a Brazilian design agency specializing in various sorts of promotional materials, recently tweeted the design to its followers — and people took notice.
In a post that has since been deleted from Twitter, Lightfarm wrote, "Throughout the process, the team devoted itself to developing realistic materials, mainly for the character's hair and clothing, so that Sam appeared aesthetically pleasing. Sam was an incredible partnership between the Cheil Agency and Lightfarm, and we are thrilled to be part of this project!" Sam turned out to be too aesthetically pleasing for many people online, inspiring various media content Samsung probably didn't intend or want.
While many of the memes featuring Sam are too spicy to post here, it's safe to say she's taken the internet by storm. Fans have begun cosplaying Sam, creating fanart, and generally getting hot on main for the Samsung girl.
Sam isn't Samsung's first AI
As mentioned in Lightfarm's initial tweet, Sam was a collaboration with the Cheil Agency, a marketing company owned by none other than Samsung. On some level, it appears as though Sam must have been an official project, but fans want to know more about the quirky girl's origins and why Samsung might have passed on the design. After all, Samsung has been interested in personal assistants and AI for some time, even going so far as to create NEON, a nearly human AI intended to mimic human behavior and movements. While NEON doesn't seem to be coming to Samsung devices anytime soon, fans can't help but wonder what might have happened if Sam replaced Bixby.
Right now, it's unclear how far Sam's development process went, or why Lightfarm deleted its images of the new beloved mascot. Even if a few pieces of Sam concept art are all that Lightfarm releases, the denizens of the internet appear to be more than happy to take up the reins and create more artwork.
Samsung, meanwhile, clearly wants to keep its finger on the pulse of the internet, and so far it's done an admirable job. The electronics company has recently collaborated with K-Pop group BTS and released a throwback flip phone that's popular with the youths. Hopefully, Samsung won't have to issue an embarrassing apology in response to the internet's love of Sam, but only time will tell.