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Samsung Mocks iPhone Fans in New Galaxy S II Ad
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Fanboys/girls are with every company. I still stand behind that I feel Apple has the worst. Still, not every single person who waits in line at those launches is like that. Maybe 5% (guessing) You could do one for Android fans very easily. Sony fans, MS fans, Nintendo, etc.... etc.... etc.... they all spout off un-educated BS which makes the interwebs more fun.
Granted I have never been in line at those things. Best friend has waited and he didn't notice too many pompous people. Sammy probably shouldnt be knocking jobs like a barista, is their shame in doing that particular work? Should Samsung's millionaires say Mickie D's workers are scum? No shame in working.
Right city for the ad, just not quite on the correct street. I am still amazed being not far removed for the 90's early 2000's people are seriously this bent up over phones....phones. People need a lot of reprogramming so to speak.
Granted I have never been in line at those things. Best friend has waited and he didn't notice too many pompous people. Sammy probably shouldnt be knocking jobs like a barista, is their shame in doing that particular work? Should Samsung's millionaires say Mickie D's workers are scum? No shame in working.
Right city for the ad, just not quite on the correct street. I am still amazed being not far removed for the 90's early 2000's people are seriously this bent up over phones....phones. People need a lot of reprogramming so to speak.
I thought the commercial was kinda lame and was not that funny. I wish Samsung used a decent phone in the add. I also like how they tout a big screen, but they for got to mention the lower res. They also mentioned 4G, but left out possible coming to a city near you.. it's not really a full network yet. 
They should have shown the products they are being sued for the ones that look just like an iPhone.. now that would have ben comedy.
They should have shown the products they are being sued for the ones that look just like an iPhone.. now that would have ben comedy.
ignorant comments such as this are the reason why some forums can't be taken seriously.
I have my htc glacier android phone downclocked to 768mhz to preserve battery life (try doing that on an iphone with relative ease) and its STILL plenty fast and on par with even an iphone 4S for general tasks.
if you're going to slam an operating system, at least do it with facts to back it up and some constructive criticism, you're not doing anyone a favour at this point. in fact, you're poisoning rational thinking for others by publicly posting such blatant lies.
if you want to bash android, you'd want to do it where google deserves to be bashed, and that's by allowing carriers like at&t or tmobile to bloat their demo and shipped phones with crapware and tons of tasks and insane number of widgets running in the background, because android doesn't have pseudo multitasking unlike OTHER phones do.
Haven't had this much fun reading since xbox360 vs ps3 first came out. I could see some forumers being the exact stereotypical fanboys Samsung is trying to portray in that line. Relax.
I think my iPhone is the best for what I need " for now ". I don't need to defend it.
That ad was epic...
I think my iPhone is the best for what I need " for now ". I don't need to defend it.
That ad was epic...
I dunno. I've never used an android phone, and am not particularly bothered about them, as long as my iPhone keeps doing what I want it do. I don't care about what other people think if I have one, and there are obviously some hipster idiots with iPhones (as well as Linux geeks with android phones...).
That doesn't stop the ad from being stupid/bad. The validity of the point about iphone users is neither here nor there, the question is does the ad do anything positive for Samsung? The points it makes about iPhone users, rightly or wrongly are not very compelling reasons to switch to Samsung, especially when it basically says these people are idiots, and then they are wowed by the Samsung phone...
That doesn't stop the ad from being stupid/bad. The validity of the point about iphone users is neither here nor there, the question is does the ad do anything positive for Samsung? The points it makes about iPhone users, rightly or wrongly are not very compelling reasons to switch to Samsung, especially when it basically says these people are idiots, and then they are wowed by the Samsung phone...
I'm amused at all these trolls talking about how Apple fans have their feelings hurt by this ad. I actually read the entire topic, and there may have been maybe two or three people who were actually upset by the portrayal of the people in line, and ten times that many talking about there being a massive number of people hurt by it. Everyone else doesn't care, or thinks it's vaguely funny. If you actually read the topic, there is no massive outrage from Apple fans. Mostly, there is confusion.
For my own part, the ad did elicit a couple laughs as I watched it. But, when it was over, I just had to shake my head and wonder what the point was. Eventually, I figured it out. This ad, quite obviously, is not going to win any more Samsung customers. But it's not intended to. It's intended to keep Samsung's customers from looking seriously at the competition. They make a mockery of the competition, give their customers the impression that their devices are desirable by their competitor's customers, and create an alternative narrative to the massive, record sales figures of the new iPhone 4S.
I'm fully aware that Samsung, as a maker and seller of products, is doing quite fine. They're shipping plenty of units, and while their profits aren't as good as Apple's, they're obviously not going out of business either. But, an ad like this shows pretty clearly that Samsung is worried about Apple's successes, and don't want to have their customers with existing Samsung products buy anything other than new Samsung products as their contracts come up.
There's only two reasons to talk about your competitors by name. The first reason is because you're behind, either in the actual numbers, or in acceleration (your competitor is gaining faster than you and you're losing ground). We can debate if this is true or not between Samsung and Apple right now, there are all sorts of metrics to compare to, but seeing as this is business, revenue matters the most, and Apple's profits are better than Samsung's in the market.
The second reason is to elevate yourself, relative to all other players, to put yourself on par with whoever is winning. It's why in a primary race, politicians all talk about whoever is most popular in the polls, and none of the other primary candidates. It's why Pepsi and Coke only talk about Coke and Pepsi, and never RC Cola. This is more of an anti-HTC ad than an anti-Apple ad. They know they're not going to win Apple customers with this ad, but they can elevate themselves to Apple's only true competition.
The reason why you never want to mention your competitors by name is because it sends pretty strong signals about your weak position. Romney only talks about Obama because he's not interested in elevating his competitors, and Apple will never mention Android or Samsung or HTC in any ad they produce. This is a move of desperation by Samsung, a really big sign that they're either losing ground, or fear losing ground. Still, if you are behind, there's only two ways to catch up. Either you present a much better brand/product, or you try to tear down the top brand/product. Some companies are capable of creating the former. Samsung apparently can only do the latter.
So, how effective of an ad it will be, we'll see I guess, but one ad is rarely effective on its own. You need to back it up with a whole campaign before you start winning mindshare. Its effectiveness, however, will not be measured in how many Apple customers it wins over, it'll be measured in how many customers Samsung doesn't lose to Apple, and how many customers it steals from HTC. It's a defensive ad, and one trying to elevate its brand over the other also-rans.
The purpose of the ad is to create a narrative of iPhone users switching en masse to Samsung devices, when the actual truth is that Apple can't keep their product in stock despite the largest manufacturing effort they've ever had to do. The Samsung narrative is false, with Apple's market leading customer satisfaction ratings, but advertising is not about facts, just creating a narrative. Samsung doesn't need to mention anything at all about feature sets or usability, just create an impression of desirability for their own product, even as they inadvertently admit people are willing to line up for hours for the mere chance of getting a product made by Apple.
Apple's narrative will continue to focus on the customer experience, and never mention the competitors. As far as Apple is concerned, there are no competitors. There are phones, and then there are iPhones. Either you have an iPhone, or you have nothing. This is certainly a much better image to present in an advertisement. One could certainly argue that the Android ads usually miss the point entirely, focusing on fancy computer graphics and tech specs and nothing at all that is relevant to the average consumer. The products themselves might be as good or better than the iPhone, but they only care about showing ads with huge robots fighting in some dystopian gladiatorial arena, so regular non-geeks will pick the phone that shows off FaceTime, Siri, the camera, and apps for travel or educational software.
People mention the PC vs. Mac ads as somehow attacking the PC user, and that's not true, but they are actually similar to this Samsung ad. Those were attack ads, aimed at products (not people), and done because the Mac is in a weaker position to Windows. They largely made Mac users feel better about their own purchases, and elevate themselves to Window's sole competitor (sorry, Linux folks). This is what the Samsung ad is trying to do with their own brand. They're just doing it perhaps a bit more mean-spirited, though this too I expect is intentional to generate virality.
TL;DR
Butthurt? Not many. Read the full topic and there's way more people saying there are, than actually people who are.
Funny ad? Sorta. Perhaps unintentionally so, in a few cases, but a decent parody.
Bad ad? Not really, just not aimed at what people think. It's to elevate themselves above HTC and such, not go after Apple.
Sign of a weaker position? Yes. Competitors only go negative when they're behind.
Effective ad? We'll see if they back it up, or if this is just a one-off to get people talking for 15 minutes. And, we'll see their market share in a year. Some people may investigate why the iPhone is so popular. Some baristas may be pissed.
About the whole 4G debate, I don't think it will resonate well with the average customer. I remember a while back there was an article here on MacRumors about a huge percentage of iPhone 4 customers who already believed they had 4G on their phones. So yeah.
And for the screen size debate, I'm really quite happy being able to reach every corner of my phone with my thumb, comfortably without strain. Yes, I could hold it differently, or stretch further, and use a 4", but I'd rather keep the thing portable and easy to use.
For my own part, the ad did elicit a couple laughs as I watched it. But, when it was over, I just had to shake my head and wonder what the point was. Eventually, I figured it out. This ad, quite obviously, is not going to win any more Samsung customers. But it's not intended to. It's intended to keep Samsung's customers from looking seriously at the competition. They make a mockery of the competition, give their customers the impression that their devices are desirable by their competitor's customers, and create an alternative narrative to the massive, record sales figures of the new iPhone 4S.
I'm fully aware that Samsung, as a maker and seller of products, is doing quite fine. They're shipping plenty of units, and while their profits aren't as good as Apple's, they're obviously not going out of business either. But, an ad like this shows pretty clearly that Samsung is worried about Apple's successes, and don't want to have their customers with existing Samsung products buy anything other than new Samsung products as their contracts come up.
There's only two reasons to talk about your competitors by name. The first reason is because you're behind, either in the actual numbers, or in acceleration (your competitor is gaining faster than you and you're losing ground). We can debate if this is true or not between Samsung and Apple right now, there are all sorts of metrics to compare to, but seeing as this is business, revenue matters the most, and Apple's profits are better than Samsung's in the market.
The second reason is to elevate yourself, relative to all other players, to put yourself on par with whoever is winning. It's why in a primary race, politicians all talk about whoever is most popular in the polls, and none of the other primary candidates. It's why Pepsi and Coke only talk about Coke and Pepsi, and never RC Cola. This is more of an anti-HTC ad than an anti-Apple ad. They know they're not going to win Apple customers with this ad, but they can elevate themselves to Apple's only true competition.
The reason why you never want to mention your competitors by name is because it sends pretty strong signals about your weak position. Romney only talks about Obama because he's not interested in elevating his competitors, and Apple will never mention Android or Samsung or HTC in any ad they produce. This is a move of desperation by Samsung, a really big sign that they're either losing ground, or fear losing ground. Still, if you are behind, there's only two ways to catch up. Either you present a much better brand/product, or you try to tear down the top brand/product. Some companies are capable of creating the former. Samsung apparently can only do the latter.
So, how effective of an ad it will be, we'll see I guess, but one ad is rarely effective on its own. You need to back it up with a whole campaign before you start winning mindshare. Its effectiveness, however, will not be measured in how many Apple customers it wins over, it'll be measured in how many customers Samsung doesn't lose to Apple, and how many customers it steals from HTC. It's a defensive ad, and one trying to elevate its brand over the other also-rans.
The purpose of the ad is to create a narrative of iPhone users switching en masse to Samsung devices, when the actual truth is that Apple can't keep their product in stock despite the largest manufacturing effort they've ever had to do. The Samsung narrative is false, with Apple's market leading customer satisfaction ratings, but advertising is not about facts, just creating a narrative. Samsung doesn't need to mention anything at all about feature sets or usability, just create an impression of desirability for their own product, even as they inadvertently admit people are willing to line up for hours for the mere chance of getting a product made by Apple.
Apple's narrative will continue to focus on the customer experience, and never mention the competitors. As far as Apple is concerned, there are no competitors. There are phones, and then there are iPhones. Either you have an iPhone, or you have nothing. This is certainly a much better image to present in an advertisement. One could certainly argue that the Android ads usually miss the point entirely, focusing on fancy computer graphics and tech specs and nothing at all that is relevant to the average consumer. The products themselves might be as good or better than the iPhone, but they only care about showing ads with huge robots fighting in some dystopian gladiatorial arena, so regular non-geeks will pick the phone that shows off FaceTime, Siri, the camera, and apps for travel or educational software.
People mention the PC vs. Mac ads as somehow attacking the PC user, and that's not true, but they are actually similar to this Samsung ad. Those were attack ads, aimed at products (not people), and done because the Mac is in a weaker position to Windows. They largely made Mac users feel better about their own purchases, and elevate themselves to Window's sole competitor (sorry, Linux folks). This is what the Samsung ad is trying to do with their own brand. They're just doing it perhaps a bit more mean-spirited, though this too I expect is intentional to generate virality.
TL;DR
Butthurt? Not many. Read the full topic and there's way more people saying there are, than actually people who are.
Funny ad? Sorta. Perhaps unintentionally so, in a few cases, but a decent parody.
Bad ad? Not really, just not aimed at what people think. It's to elevate themselves above HTC and such, not go after Apple.
Sign of a weaker position? Yes. Competitors only go negative when they're behind.
Effective ad? We'll see if they back it up, or if this is just a one-off to get people talking for 15 minutes. And, we'll see their market share in a year. Some people may investigate why the iPhone is so popular. Some baristas may be pissed.
About the whole 4G debate, I don't think it will resonate well with the average customer. I remember a while back there was an article here on MacRumors about a huge percentage of iPhone 4 customers who already believed they had 4G on their phones. So yeah.
And for the screen size debate, I'm really quite happy being able to reach every corner of my phone with my thumb, comfortably without strain. Yes, I could hold it differently, or stretch further, and use a 4", but I'd rather keep the thing portable and easy to use.
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I think the positive it shows is that you don't need to wait in line and suffer endless waiting periods to get an awesome phone.
And that's not because Samsung has problems moving units, do we need to remind everyone who moved more during Q311 ? If you didn't catch that and call the ad bad, it seems to me it hit you closer to home than you're willing to admit.
Look, I have an iPhone 4S, I bought it on launch day. This ad is still cool and funny to me.
The benefit is to raise awareness of Samsungs very successful entry into the Smartphone sector. A presence that encompases Android & other mobile operating systems.Fair enough Bugs... sorry Vitzr. I just don't see why this would be especially helpful to Samsung? If this was a campaign sponsored by Google it would at least make some sense, but I find it hard to believe that Samsung would spend money just to annoy fanboys. Where's the benefit?
Already the dominating leader in the TV business, they are simply teasing Apple in front of the target market that buys their products.
Respectfully, while you may fail to get the point, there are millions that do.
I think the positive it shows is that you don't need to wait in line and suffer endless waiting periods to get an awesome phone.
Just like HTC had no problem, or Huawei, or ZTE, or . . . all these generic OEMs have no problem moving units when they're running someone else's free OS and produce an ocean of different devices, from the decent to the truly bad.
Next year it might be HTC that ships the most, or ZTE. Whoever can flood the market the quickest. These OEM names are interchangeable. There's barely any differentiation.
Then, of course, you get that ONE phone that people are actually willing to stand in line for and wait all year for, from a company that only produces that one phone and the model just prior to it.
There's really nothing all that funny about it. But for Samsung and these other guys, when you can't get the glory, sometimes it's comforting to pretend you don't actually want it.
And here's the thing: the Apple brand, the Apple image, what it represents, is something most consumers want to be associated with, notwithstanding price and availability barriers. This is due to Apple's product and brand differentiation. Which, in turn, is due to 1) their vertical business model, and 2) how well they do that vertical business model. This is something Samsung and the rest will never have.
This holiday quarter will clarify a lot of things.
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No offense but ... yawn.
The ad was funny and dead on. It did not make me hate apple or appreciate Samsung.
It did make the whole waiting in line for a PHONE seem kinda stupid in a funny way.
Excellent, and well thought out, post that I for one did not realize could be an angle that Samsung could be taking. Once I watch the commercial in that light it seems to make sense. They are viewing the people in line as a "lost cause" audience because they will be in the same line next year with the next iPhone. Meanwhile any customers of other third party manufactures would look at this and realize that Samsung might be a viable alternative. Very interesting, but I wonder if Samsung realizes the potential for backlash in their other lines of business such as TV's, appliances, and of course tablets from those potential customers in line.
And then there's the 3rd audience : iPhone buyers who do not wait in line but buy the iPhone "because that's the well known brand". This ad emphasizes to them that you don't need to stand in line or wait 2-3 weeks to get an awesome phone.
Basically, this ad is pointed at everyone else, those who don't find standing in line for a phone something reasonable (be it a real line or a virtual "your phone will ship in 2-3 weeks" line).
Oh now, be nice. I love when people so "no offense", then continue with something that's ... well, offensive (or at the very least, a bit rude). So the poster wrote a novel, it's got some well intended ideas in it ... even if it was really, really long
That being said, I mostly agree with you. It didn't change my stance on either product one bit (for personal use or even recommendations), and I found it pretty funny (and not as negative toward Apple as some people suggest, in fact, in some ways it reinforces Apple's success...)
The ad however, is not (to quote another poster), "brilliant". Good lord, I guess there aren't many people around here with marketing/creative backgrounds.
My what a verbose post.
Apparently having invested the time to respond in such great length, Samsung has accomplished it's goal.
Samsung + 1
Apple Zero
From my perspective, this brilliant ad pushes Apples buttons and gets under their skin. A massive accomplishment, not lost on the iFans.
A side benefit is irritating Apple just enough to force them to Apply themselves. It could be rightfully said that Antennagate & Batterygate have ruined the pleasure of buying a new iPhone for millions.
Being among those who got burned by giving my money to Apple for each of these failures, I'm counting on Apple to get the next iPhone right.
I have complete confidence Apple is capable of building the best smartphone ever. The question is will they?
If we are being honest, let's admit Apple knows it doesn't matter since it's their smoke & mirrors trickery that sells every iPhone as fast as they can be made.
The sales volume of the last two years proves that iPhone quality & performance is of little importance. The most important feature, is the Apple logo on the back.
A very nice position to be in
My what a verbose post.
Apparently having invested the time to respond in such great length, Samsung has accomplished it's goal.
Samsung + 1
Apple Zero
From my perspective, this brilliant ad pushes Apples buttons and gets under their skin. A massive accomplishment, not lost on the iFans.
A side benefit is irritating Apple just enough to force them to Apply themselves. It could be rightfully said that Antennagate & Batterygate have ruined the pleasure of buying a new iPhone for millions.
Being among those who got burned by giving my money to Apple for each of these failures, I'm counting on Apple to get the next iPhone right.
I have complete confidence Apple is capable of building the best smartphone ever. The question is will they?
If we are being honest, let's admit Apple knows it doesn't matter since it's their smoke & mirrors trickery that sells every iPhone as fast as they can be made.
The sales volume of the last two years proves that iPhone quality & performance is of little importance. The most important feature, is the Apple logo on the back.
A very nice position to be in
First the length of a person's post does not equate to a company gaining a point against his claims. That is just childish. Would it have been better if he just posted like the other many posts in this thread and limit it to "They suck" or "Brilliant ad"? These posts accomplish nothing in the discussion and personally I wish I had a filter on these boards which would automatically hide posts of less than 20 words, because more than likely the poster did not think enough about his thoughts that the post can convey.
Your post is full of contradictions. Even though you say that you are not satisfied with the iPhone to the point that you considered yourself "burned" with the product and yet you state that you have bought iPhones in the past and not only that but intend to buy the next one? Are you trying to make yourself the person mimicked in the commercial or just secretly enjoy the products and are trying to stir the pot?
If anyone wants an actual reason as to why someone would use android over iOS (me in this case) here are 2 legit reasons;
1) customization. iOS doesnt have much going for it in that department.
2) i hate being forced to used bloated crapware like iTunes just to load files onto a device.
Fix the two and I might actually be interested in using an iPhone. I need to have devices/software setup according to *MY* needs, not to some egotistical maniac like Steve Jobs. I don't care what the guy had to say, his preference is not MY preference.
1) customization. iOS doesnt have much going for it in that department.
2) i hate being forced to used bloated crapware like iTunes just to load files onto a device.
Fix the two and I might actually be interested in using an iPhone. I need to have devices/software setup according to *MY* needs, not to some egotistical maniac like Steve Jobs. I don't care what the guy had to say, his preference is not MY preference.
Food for thought.
Someone on a tech site commenting on the ad doesn't mean that anyone accomplished anything. It means that someone is discussing the ad. That isn't exactly enough "attention" to equate to meaningful numbers that hurt Apple. Unless you're posting from the Bizarro World.
Does it? how do you know? Did this ad even register in Cupertino? Do Tim and Scott et al actually care?
Did *this* ad do irritate them? It got a massive amount of attention from us at the time.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w83UQkiuNZQ
Result?
A couple of years later Motorola was in free-fall and was bought by Google. The ad did nothing to dent Apple mindhsare. Most ads directed against Apple at this time will not. In fact, they might just show the attacker as rather awkward and out of touch with the market.
There is no evidence of any accomplishment as of yet. Aside from folks on tech sites talking about a tech ad.
Is it? Are you sure it's irritating Apple? How do you know this? Are Scott, Jony and Tim sitting around eating their sushi and enjoying their vanilla chai feeling irritated?
Were they irritated by a very similar Motorola Droid ad that aired in 2009? what did that ad accomplish? Apple went on to sell record numbers of iPhones and Motorola was bought out.
Do you honestly think this ad did anything at all to put a dent in Apple mindshare, especially in the absence of any actual material evidence (i.e., holiday quarter numbers)?
All we are seeing is an OEM vendor selling a lot of phones at all price points that run someone else's free OS. Last year the big name was HTC. Just substitute Samsung for HTC. Same thing, slightly different version. Today HTC is announcing a grim forecast for the next few quarters. Next year ZTE might manage to really flood the market and outdo Samsung in sales. Who knows. That's all these guys do: horizontal business model and volume-pushing.
It could be said, but not rightfully.
https://www.macrumors.com/2011/09/0...rankings-of-smartphone-consumer-satisfaction/
http://www.newspress.me/computers/iphone-4s-demand-remains-strong-at-home-and-abroad
http://www.appleinsider.com/article...o_overwhelm_us_carriers_a_month_after_launch/
And from the loveable folks at CR:
http://news.consumerreports.org/electronics/2011/11/consumer-reports-recommends-the-iphone-4s.html
So you did it again.
Unless you didn't actually, and never did. It wouldn't be the first time someone has manufactured . . . um . . . manure . . . for us to read.
https://forums.macrumors.com/posts/13861023/
They already did. I think this is the fourth or fifth time in a row.
https://www.macrumors.com/2011/09/0...rankings-of-smartphone-consumer-satisfaction/
http://www.zdnet.com/blog/apple/iphone-rules-in-smartphone-customer-satisfaction-shocking/8775
http://www.tipb.com/2009/08/14/iphone-3gs-99-pure-satisfaction/
Are we?
But I thought it irritated them to the degree that it will force them to "change", or whatever, as you claimed.
That "smoke and mirrors trickery" is actually called "a quality product." So much so that even the lowly 3GS has outsold most new Android devices. When you make only one (or at most two) phones, and the competition makes an ocean of them, your paltry two models had better be damn good. And we've seen that they are.
Maybe when the competition decides it's time to get serious about the User Experience and adopt a vertical business model, controlling the experience right through from cradle to grave, they can achieve what Apple does with their "smoke and mirrors."
"Quality and performance" are the reasons for the sales volume. When you sell only two phones against hundreds (if not more) of competing devices at all price points, nailing quality and performance is an absolute necessity.
You're absolutely right. Because that logo actually means something. Consumers know exactly what stands behind that logo.
A very nice position to be in
Totally agree.
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