Samsung tech connects national sports anchor Faizal Khamisa with surprise interview guest in latest campaign spot

“Having interviewed professional athletes for a decade, I was ready for anything, but seeing my friend on the other side of the call truly threw me.” – Faizal Khamisa

Today, Samsung launched their final spot in their “Connected Experiences” campaign, which showcases the power of technology in fostering meaningful connections. The campaign features five notable Canadians who are connected to their passions in a memorable way via Samsung technology.

The final campaign spot features national sports anchor Faizal Khamisa, who leverages the power of connected technology to “Do The SmartThings!” and conduct an interview in his home with a mystery guest. Faizal prepares questions on his Samsung Galaxy Z Fold4, not knowing who to expect on the other end – only to learn that it’s his best friend Jamil online who is using a Samsung Galaxy Tab8 Ultra in the room upstairs. You can watch the spot here.

To mark the final spot’s launch, we sat down with Faizal to talk about his experience, and how he incorporates connected experiences in his day-to-day life – from conducting interviews with some of the best athletes out there, to relaxing with friends and family.

What is your favourite piece of Samsung technology that you use daily?

There’s nothing more versatile to me than the M8 Smart Monitor. As someone who frequently changes between watching TV/videos to gaming to producing content, the monitor functionality makes it easy to do all of it seamlessly.

In your vignette, you had the opportunity to work and connect with a close friend. Can you tell us about that experience?

This truly was one of the coolest and more meaningful experiences of my life. I can’t tell you how stunned I was, and how emotional I was at the same time. Having interviewed professional athletes for a decade, I was ready for anything, but seeing my friend on the other side of the call truly threw me off temporarily.

Provide an example of a meaningful connection that technology has enabled for you.

Having gone through what we all have over the last couple of years, it has made it more difficult to connect with people physically. The technology available to us made it as close as possible to do so. Case in point Jamil – during the early parts of the pandemic, we’d spend our evenings video chatting on our Samsung Galaxy devices while playing monopoly deal over Xbox. It was a great way to not be alone, and simulate the real life hangouts we had both prior to, and now after, the worst of the pandemic.

How does technology help you in your professional life to stay on top of breaking sports news?

I can’t tell you how many times in my day I’m opening social media on my Samsung Galaxy Z Fold4 to see what the latest news is. It’s only possible because of the vast leaps tech has made in my lifetime, having everything I need in my pocket. It’s completely transformed the media game, and more specifically the sports media game, in that it’s 24/7. To continue to keep my credibility and reputation, I have to be on it, no matter where I am and what else I’m doing. The technology we have today makes it easy.

What’s next for you? What cool and exciting projects are on the horizon?

When you work in media, particularly sports media, everyday feels like a new, cool project. Being able to navigate through the world of live sports through instant reaction and analysis makes doing what I do exciting every single time the camera turns on.

Samsung has long been innovating across its mobile, home entertainment, home office and digital appliance products to help Canadians curate intuitive, integrated experiences. To learn more about Samsung’s meaningful connections campaign, click here.