Samsung Asks NYC Street-Goers to Compare Galaxy Tab S and iPad Air in New Ad

[keterboy]

That was a terrible analogy. Sorry but it was. But I can be just as bad.
Imagine it as if you wear a blank t-****. That t-shirt is a one size fits all. It has to be worn a certain way or not at all. Some people like it. Imagine a different t-shirt. You can get it in small, medium, large, or XL. Depending on your mood, you can leave the shirt plain, change it's color, or change that picture you mentioned to anything you want. Some people like it.

Both analogies, yours and mine, are horrible. No debating that. At least mine resembles a more realistic view, imo of course.

I do agree that it wasn't the best example with the t-shirts. But point was much simpler.

I wasn't talking about the different shapes colors and sizes a product can come with, but about the fact that it has a certain style to it or it doen't.

Obviously you're going to change your t-shirt each day to the color and theme of your current mood. But you're very unlikely to change an expensive product that often nor will you have two or three of the same category. Therefor its important to make such a product "style-less", know what i mean? I notice this with my friends, literally half have samsung tabs and the other ipads. I can confirm that i see my ipad friends always with their ipad on their side, they do literally everything on their ipads, whereas my samsung tabs friends barely touch it. Yesterday i was at my friend's place and he has one of those samsung tabs, i asked him if he has any games on it, he said no, i asked why, he said i dont know... not time. His girlfriend later told me that he plays with her ipad all the time. While this should not be made a generalization, i still believe that this phenomenon is whats mainly happening out there. And you can see this by the share of web browsing that Apple products have, simple as that.

Once you define a product to a certain character; your character will get tired of it quickly, looking for something else for your daily mood swings.

Its all psychology brother, simple as that thanks for your reply.

 

[tdale]

As a consumer, this ad would do nothing for me. I don't care what other people on the street think. I do my own do telogen's to find out which product is better for me.

However, this ad may serve Samsung well with the low information crowd

No, the low info crowd, wont believe that iPad is so poor, as its a well known brand. They will query it. Its not a fact that the iPad may or may not be bad, or that the Samsung may or may not be great, the brand iPad is so well known and trusted, running it down as poor won't wash, thats my opinion. If they said the iPad is really pretty good, but our product is actually better, that can have a more positive and believable perception.

Marketing is about branding, perception. Girls don't buy perfume to smell nice they buy it to be loved. iPad wise, you cannot give a perception that its poor, its too highly valued a brand, so don't go there.

 

[crawler1975]

I guess Samsung is really trying hard to persuade people to like their products. Instead of the usual bashing of Apple products, I would suggest Samsung start to create ads on what their tablet can actually do. At least for Apple, it shows us how you can use your iphone/ipads and how it does much more than the usual internet browsing/movie watching etc. Apple shows how musicians can create music with their iphones/ipads, medical professionals using it, commercial pilots using it as navigational aids, teachers using it as a tool for education etc. I have not seen any Samsung ad that does show what it can do "outside the box".

Also, you really cannot compare the two products. Just like someone on the thread said .. it's like a Ford and BMW.

 

[tdale]

Can you answer this for me. Are you speaking as a consumer. Or someone who has knowledge and experience IN the advertising industry...

I have done Marketing as part of a Finance degree, and I work with marketing at times. While I am not a marketing man, I am not unfamiliar.

 

[patschwarz]

Why

I don't get how Samsung works, they can't even make anything good and can't even advertise it they have to get random people to script it and use the iPad Air to compare it and get the people to say the S-Tab or whatever its called is lighter and thinner and all that stuff.I DONT GET IT.

 

[tdale]

That's where the "Some people like it" comes in. Some like iOS. Some like Android. Some like both and don't care about the fanboy war.

And some don't like both, they like one, but are fans not fanboys. Thats how I see myself.

 

[Medic311]

everyone i know who purchased a Galaxy Tab S, including myself, bought it with the intent to flip due to those free cover offers and Sears SYWR points.

i bought (2) the first go-around and received $212 back in points for each. flipped them both on Craigslist and only took a $25 hit total b/c i got a free case. then i bought (2) more a couple of weeks ago and got $225 back in points for each. flipped them both and took a $75 hit total. used the points and put them towards a Briggs and Stratton 8750W/7000W generator.

solely from a hardware perspective, the Tab S is magnificent. the achilles heel being the OS and the half-assed attempts at software programs/features that Samsung loads onto it that either don't work at all or don't work reliably enough to have the confidence to depend on them. with Apple, they invest massive amounts of time and money into make sure every one of their software innovations works perfectly on the devices they sell. the one trip up that comes to mind is Apple Maps but the fact is it still worked very well, it's just that certain birds eye type of views had glitches


(typed on my iPAD)

 

[tdale]

I guess Samsung is really trying hard to persuade people to like their products. Instead of the usual bashing of Apple products, I would suggest Samsung start to create ads on what their tablet can actually do. At least for Apple, it shows us how you can use your iphone/ipads and how it does much more than the usual internet browsing/movie watching etc. Apple shows how musicians can create music with their iphones/ipads, medical professionals using it, commercial pilots using it as navigational aids, teachers using it as a tool for education etc. I have not seen any Samsung ad that does show what it can do "outside the box".

Also, you really cannot compare the two products. Just like someone on the thread said .. it's like a Ford and BMW.

Possibly the reason is that Apple has it easy. Its a brand, Samsung etc are models. Apple doesnt need to do much and it doesnt, its already trusted. Samsung has Apple as a competitor and also its other Android based device manufacturers. There are already sales of Apple gear that they KNOW will happen as they have brand loyalty, Samsung has to fight everyone. I see that happening with switchers to HTC and LG. Samsung probity needs to re assess how they market IMO, or the design of their phones. All phones are incremental updates these days, but the Galaxy range has lost its oomph.

 

[Trapezoid]

Possibly the reason is that Apple has it easy. Its a brand, Samsung etc are models. Apple doesnt need to do much and it doesnt, its already trusted. Samsung has Apple as a competitor and also its other Android based device manufacturers. There are already sales of Apple gear that they KNOW will happen as they have brand loyalty, Samsung has to fight everyone. I see that happening with switchers to HTC and LG. Samsung probity needs to re assess how they market IMO, or the design of their phones. All phones are incremental updates these days, but the Galaxy range has lost its oomph.

Itll regain a little oomph when they copy whatever the iPhone 6 has, but yeah Samsung seems to have been a fad. IMO, it all started going downhill with the s4. Critically panned "keynote", completely gimmicky and laughable "features"and those ridiculous commercials.

You look at htc and lg and they make phones that are beautiful and are not stuffed with gimmicks. In fact, the g3 has sold ten million units. Not bad for a company that's usually near the bottom.

 

[Lancer]

Here we go again!

It makes me want to buy an iPad...

I'm still to buy any tablet, will be watching what Apple launches later in the year, if not on the 9th of Sept.

 

[tdale]

everyone i know who purchased a Galaxy Tab S, including myself, bought it with the intent to flip due to those free cover offers and Sears SYWR points.

i bought (2) the first go-around and received $212 back in points for each. flipped them both on Craigslist and only took a $25 hit total b/c i got a free case. then i bought (2) more a couple of weeks ago and got $225 back in points for each. flipped them both and took a $75 hit total. used the points and put them towards a Briggs and Stratton 8750W/7000W generator.

solely from a hardware perspective, the Tab S is magnificent. the achilles heel being the OS and the half-assed attempts at software programs/features that Samsung loads onto it that either don't work at all or don't work reliably enough to have the confidence to depend on them. with Apple, they invest massive amounts of time and money into make sure every one of their software innovations works perfectly on the devices they sell. the one trip up that comes to mind is Apple Maps but the fact is it still worked very well, it's just that certain birds eye type of views had glitches


(typed on my iPAD)

Yep. Apple makes the hardware and the software and they are made for each other, hence the SoC are not technically as "high" as others, in terms of clock and core, but FAR better per core/Mhz, so you get a fluid performance. I often saw Android sites reviewing iPhone vs Samsung, and almost always commented on the smooth, fluid operation of the iPhone. Custom designed. The apps run on hardware that is one, thats quite a big thing. If Google told manufacturers that you MUST only use these components as we will optimise Android only for those components, it would be the same, but in real life it isn't. So the devices and OS and apps run generic to a degree to work on a number of different components.

 

[69Mustang]

I see a pattern here. Every post you run a putdown phrase, good marketing, as it perceives following readers that the post you criticise is wrong. Good work.

In answer to your question this thread is about an ad, and the whys and wherefores of that ad. I explained my take on why this form of ad wont work, in that they focus on the other product being negative. As I explained, this is a standard IT product, that carries a low level of branding, targeting a product with an extremely high level of branding. You have now changed tack, and are focussing your criticism of my post on general business, whole different topic if you wish to have a standard product and target another standard product. IMO there needs to be a perceived factual comparison if you wish to target a big brand, otherwise its washed off as clear puffery by the masses

I was trying to give you an out by removing the Samsung v Apple component and rephrasing it as a general business question. Let's not forget, it was you who entered my conversation, not the other way around. I was responding to another post about waiting until Apple releases their product and re-shooting the ad. I said that is a logic fail. Everyone of my posts have continued along that theme. So no, I'm not changing my focus. It's still on the idiocy of the original comment.

It's obvious we're focusing on two different things. But I will address your last point that I bolded. What exactly do you think marketing is? Marketing has never been about facts per se. It's more about driving a desire. Why do you think car companies brag about horsepower, 0-60 times, and show slow motion drifts with smoking rear tires? Desire. Are the masses going to do all of those things after they purchase their sedan? Vast majority - nope.

Referencing the ad only - Samsung employed an age old advertising tactic. Take the perceived strengths of your competition and show where you're better. Apple has been, among other things, known for thinness, lightness, and a quality screen (Retina). Samsung's ad focused on those qualities highlighting the "fact" that their offering is thinner, lighter, and has a better screen. I purposely put fact in quotations because it is less fact and more about perception. That's what advertisers do. It's their job. Samsung's job is not to present Apple in the best light, but that's what you and a lot of others seem to want them to do. Makes no sense.

 

[tdale]

Itll regain a little oomph when they copy whatever the iPhone 6 has, but yeah Samsung seems to have been a fad. IMO, it all started going downhill with the s4. Critically panned "keynote", completely gimmicky and laughable "features"and those ridiculous commercials.

You look at htc and lg and they make phones that are beautiful and are not stuffed with gimmicks. In fact, the g3 has sold ten million units. Not bad for a company that's usually near the bottom.

Fully agree, the LG 3 is it? Hear that a lot. Galaxys are nice for sure, but S4 at 4.9" and S5 at 5? The Android crowd on my NZ geek forum were way underwhelmed and went HTC and LG, and Lumia. Even Android is going away, many like it but hate the oft stated issues and go WP. Oddly WP market share is hardly moving but there you go

 

[Trapezoid]

Fully agree, the LG 3 is it? Hear that a lot. Galaxys are nice for sure, but S4 at 4.9" and S5 at 5? The Android crowd on my NZ geek forum were way underwhelmed and went HTC and LG, and Lumia. Even Android is going away, many like it but hate the oft stated issues and go WP. Oddly WP market share is hardly moving but there you go

Yep the g3 is an awesome phone. Easily the best phone I've ever owned. I wouldn't mind going back to the iPhone if the 6 is amazing, but it'll take a lot to take me away from the g3.

And, this is stupid, but I like having wallpaper I can actually see lol

 

[Shanghaichica]

There are yes. In Android its heavy, in iOS its light, both in the volume of freemium games and in the screen area they take up

It's annoying on both platforms. I just pay to get rid of them if it's possible.

 

[wigby]

I can't even tell if they are paid actors or not but it doesn't matter. It feels so coached and stilted by the hipster host and his questionable ethnicity.

 

[xmichaelp]

More like "street-goers"

 

[LXC101]

I'm getting sick of these adverts, not just Samsung but from other competitors. Why can't they just advertise their products for the features that they have and let it stand on it's own two feet instead of always having to compare it directly with the iPhone 5S or the iPad Air.

And yes, Apple perhaps did start it with the Mac vs PC ads a while back. But the beauty of those ads was that Apple was generic about it, they didn't target specific manufacturers or particular devices. Just shows how desperate the competition must be if they're always attacking specific Apple products directly.

While I also find these ads annoying, they're nothing new. When you have a market leader and you want to show your product is better to people who already have it, you compare the two.

Also, I wouldn't say Apples Microsoft ads were generic. They literally bashed Windows software, thereby bashing Microsoft. They just did it in a sneakier and more polished way.

----------

I can't even tell if they are paid actors or not but it doesn't matter. It feels so coached and stilted by the hipster host and his questionable ethnicity.

Lol what on earth does his ethnicity have to do with anything?

 

[Trapezoid]

I can't even tell if they are paid actors or not but it doesn't matter. It feels so coached and stilted by the hipster host and his questionable ethnicity.

His ethnicity? What's the relevance?

 

[tdale]

I was trying to give you an out by removing the Samsung v Apple component and rephrasing it as a general business question. Let's not forget, it was you who entered my conversation, not the other way around. I was responding to another post about waiting until Apple releases their product and re-shooting the ad. I said that is a logic fail. Everyone of my posts have continued along that theme. So no, I'm not changing my focus. It's still on the idiocy of the original comment.

It's obvious we're focusing on two different things. But I will address your last point that I bolded. What exactly do you think marketing is? Marketing has never been about facts per se. It's more about driving a desire. Why do you think car companies brag about horsepower, 0-60 times, and show slow motion drifts wit smoking rear tires? Desire. Are the masses going to do all of those things after they purchase their sedan? Vast majority - nope.

Referencing the ad only - Samsung employed an age old advertising tactic. Take the perceived strengths of your competition and show where you're better. Apple has been, among other things, known for thinness, lightness, and a quality screen (Retina). Samsung's ad focused on those qualities highlighting the "fact" that their offering is thinner, lighter, and has a better screen. I purposely put fact in quotations because it is less fact and more about perception. That's what advertisers do. It's their job. Samsung's job is not to present Apple in the best light, but that's what you and a lot of others seem to want them to do. Makes no sense.

We can agree to disagree, but targeting Apple with what will be perceived as clear puffery wont work IMO, its too highly trusted. Samsung runs Apple down, IMO that wont work. Masses already trust Apple , and a puffery ad running Apple down wont work, the masses are not stupid, as EVERYONE has heard of Apple and the iPad. Wont work. This is not marketing perfume that costs $2, in a $22 fancy bottle, selling for $75, so that girls will find love, this is asking a company that makes fridges, freezers, TV's to suddenly advertise a tablet that is far better than the iconic iPad. Marketing almost all products is not comparable to targeting an iconic company that is already trusted by people who are not tech literate.

----------

Yep the g3 is an awesome phone. Easily the best phone I've ever owned. I wouldn't mind going back to the iPhone if the 6 is amazing, but it'll take a lot to take me away from the g3.

And, this is stupid, but I like having wallpaper I can actually see lol

Fine, whatever, I'll buy another 5S, and cut the wallpaper in half and carry them side by side.....

 

[zipa]

Also, you really cannot compare the two products. Just like someone on the thread said .. it's like a Ford and BMW.

I'd much rather have the Ford GT than the 1-series diesel hatchback...

 

[samcraig]

I don't get how Samsung works, they can't even make anything good and can't even advertise it they have to get random people to script it and use the iPad Air to compare it and get the people to say the S-Tab or whatever its called is lighter and thinner and all that stuff.I DONT GET IT.

Really? Samsung doesn't make anything good?

And you don't get what exactly? You realize this is one commercial and they have several - not all are random people commenting.

 

[69Mustang]

I do agree that it wasn't the best example with the t-shirts. But point was much simpler.

I wasn't talking about the different shapes colors and sizes a product can come with, but about the fact that it has a certain style to it or it doen't.

Obviously you're going to change your t-shirt each day to the color and theme of your current mood. But you're very unlikely to change an expensive product that often nor will you have two or three of the same category. Therefor its important to make such a product "style-less", know what i mean? I notice this with my friends, literally half have samsung tabs and the other ipads. I can confirm that i see my ipad friends always with their ipad on their side, they do literally everything on their ipads, whereas my samsung tabs friends barely touch it. Yesterday i was at my friend's place and he has one of those samsung tabs, i asked him if he has any games on it, he said no, i asked why, he said i dont know... not time. His girlfriend later told me that he plays with her ipad all the time. While this should not be made a generalization, i still believe that this phenomenon is whats mainly happening out there. And you can see this by the share of web browsing that Apple products have, simple as that.

Once you define a product to a certain character; your character will get tired of it quickly, looking for something else for your daily mood swings.

Its all psychology brother, simple as that thanks for your reply.

I guess we can just agree to disagree. Which is cool. We all have anecdotes. I have an iPad and a Nexus 7. I barely touch the iPad. My N7 is with me constantly. The iPad never leaves home. Conversely, my kids use the iPad all the time and never touch the N7. Anecdotes are usually ineffectual except in cementing conformation bias.

I like tech. None of it has character to me. They are products. If it interest me, I buy it. There's no emotional pull. But that's just me. I do understand some have a passion for tech, or a certain tech company and its products, be it Apple, Samsung, Google, or whomever. That's why your florid descriptions of the iPad don't resonate with me. It's just a tablet to me. No more, no less. Pretty much nothing I can't do with one that I can't do with another. But I do appreciate your passion for Apple. I'm that way about Fords and Audis. So I do understand.

 

[NutsNGum]

looks like a decent device but i think AMOLED looks horrible. unnatural with some weird blueish tint

not sure what the nexus 5 uses but that one looks great

Come on man. It's a reddish tint. If you're going to bash without having seen it, at least do the research.

AMOLED screens are stunning and though I own both Apple and Samsung products. The screens on the Sammy devices are, at this point at least, better. It's less obvious with the ipad air vs tab s. But iPhone vs Note (3) the screen quality difference is as obvious as night and day.

 

[samcraig]

Also, you really cannot compare the two products. Just like someone on the thread said .. it's like a Ford and BMW.

No it's not and car analogies on this forum should be banned. They are horrible.