by Eric Lieberman
SILICON VALLEY – Samsung is bluntly mocking Apple with a new advertisement published Sunday on YouTube, just ahead of the busy holiday shopping season.
While some marketing campaigns from competing tech firms often feature subtle or indirect jabs at one another, the video commercial titled “Samsung Galaxy: Growing Up” is clear in its targeting and pulls no punches.
The video shows a young man, starting around 2007, periodically acquiring the new iPhone, generation after generation. With excitement after each purchase, he later finds out that the smartphone isn’t working in the way he would like. He at certain points appears to need an updated model, which results in yet another purchase of a newer iPhone.
He eventually meets a woman who has the Samsung Galaxy. The man realizes through shared moments — like a collective tumble into a lake in which his iPhone was rendered useless and her’s continued to properly function — that perhaps Apple’s products aren’t the best, despite the extremely long lines that ostensibly exhibits would-be consumer excitement.
In fact, after poking fun at the iPhone 7 specifically, which was a contentious model since it didn’t have the classic 3.5mm headphone jack, the man passes the very long lines outside of Apple stores he has long observed, but this time with a dismissive, yet empathetic look.
As he turns around to glance at the Apple enthusiasts with pity, the not-seen singer in the commercial’s song chants, “I’m moving on” as “Upgrade to Galaxy” pans over the scene.
Rival tech companies, both within Silicon Valley and around the world, often spar when it comes to promotion of their products and services, especially mobile devices and carriers. Google, for example, cracked several jokes about iPhones at its recent event introducing the new Pixel 2 smartphone. And Sprint got the highly-recognizable “Can You Hear Me Now” spokesperson to switch teams from Verizon, so he could trash his former employer.
Samsung’s latest commercial is yet another instance of fellow tech corporations battling over the hearts and minds of consumers, with an equally, if not more, frank delivery.
Disclaimer: News articles on this site may contain opinions of the author, and if opinion, may not necessarily reflect the views of the site itself or the views of the owners of NewsLI.com, Long Island Media Inc., or Long Island Exchange®. For more information on our editorial policies please view our terms of service.
