Samsung "Street Challenge" Pits iPhone Against Galaxy Note

[samcraig]

Bad commercial. Way too heavily handed. And everything the note can do IN THE COMMERCIAL - the iPhone can do too.

They picked the wrong things to highlight. They also - to at least make it APPEAR less obvious - should have had several people - not just one "newbie" iPhone user.

If they had found some unique aspects of the Note AND pitted it against several people with their iPhones - they could have had a great commercial. Whether you agreed with the premise of features being important enough.

This commercial is just too over the top.

 

[Buildbright]

Whats next a Samsung laptop vs an ipod touch. lol But dont forget the laughing clueless women. I bet she thinks the Note has bigger WIFIS.

No matter if she had a phone from the future and the other guy had a Motorola Razr the phone is only as smart as the user.

I like the Note but this ad makes me mad because I will have to hear some dumb person recite it to me as why the iPhone sux. Smartphones are becoming the new politics.

 

[MythicFrost]

That was just terrible, she started saying "I can't do that", when he was just searching the web.

 

[TheReadyPrompt]

Samsung: We want to reach out to Apple iPhone users and get them to buy our products. What do we do?

Ad Agency: Let's run TV spots insulting them.

Samsung: ... brilliant!

[ And before some lamebrain brings up the Mac vs. PC ads, a reminder that Hodgman and Long were portraying the platforms, not their users. ]

 

[mac26]

Why was that man using a dinosaur to control the note, oh wait that's a stylus! haven't seen those in a while!

 

[silver8ack]

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The Note is a phone? Hahahaha.

 

[tqmcguire]

I don't advocate violence... but that complete MORON needs smacked in the face and told to SHUT UP! I can't remember being this annoyed in a long time. MY PHONE CAN'T DO THAT! No, you're an idiot!

 

[Makosuke]

To me it seems clear that Samsung has no intention of trying to convince Apple users to switch to Android, as much as they are just reassuring everybody else that Apple-fanboys are redicilous and it's cool to make fun of them.

Bingo. Insulting customers of another company isn't going to convince them to buy your product, it'll just make them defensive and/or angry. True, really, of pretty much any kind of persuasion. But insulting the "other side" does tend to make you feel better for the choice you already made.

That said, this tactic probably would be better as a stop-loss ad for existing Samsung products on cell phone carriers that now have the 4S, rather than for an entirely new product. Especially one that looks comically oversized.

It's notable that the famous I'm A Mac ads didn't make fun of PC owners, they made fun of the PC itself, and even then PC was sort of a likable doofus. Made easier, of course, by the fact that the average Windows user already hated his/her own PC--I've rarely talked to a non-geek who has any affection whatsoever for Windows other than a general sense of familiarity.

Many people are missing the bigger picture here: Samsung is NOT copying Apple ads! They’re going their own route!

Ooh, I didn't think of it that way. Good point--now at least they can say they're doing something (current) that isn't blatantly derivative of another market leader.

 

[marksman]

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5.3" screen on a 'phone' = pet the rabbit George?

 

[horace528]

With just the right apps...

With just the right apps, like many other people replied, even a kid can do all those things.
Also, At LEAST try doing the job, not just saying "I can't do that, I just can't do that."

 

[smitha96]

Is anyone else bothered by the not-so-subtle racist undertones in this ad? I find it pretty offensive really...

 

[marksman]

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I have a Mac. And Photoshop. Sure, phones need some extra functionality but I don't want to create birthday cards on one. What next? The Samsung Galaxy Note with built-in fan oven in case you get peckish when you're about and about?

Grow up, Samsung.

but for those that DO what to create birthday cards on one, there are plenty of iOS apps for that.

Including iCards

 

[thekev]

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Good luck trying convince the world your phone is better when 1) it's too big, 2) Android is second rate, 3) it's never going to have the feel and look of iPhone (just like the others), and 4) all the while you're making fun of Apple users.

Next thread.

Android seems to be doing okay in terms of number of people who buy them, and it's not exactly cheaper than the iphone. It's just not subsidized quite as heavily on some phones. Size has always seemed to be a thing with mobile phones. They started off gigantic, went down to tiny form factors, then when smart phones increased in popularity it went the other direction. They just kind of throw options out there to see what sells.

Is anyone else bothered by the not-so-subtle racist undertones in this ad? I find it pretty offensive really...

They definitely went stereotypical, but I notice it in a lot of other things on television as well. It's not only races. It's also other cultures. I don't mean anything truly unfamiliar to most of those living in the US. They even do this with Canadians (outside of obvious parody).

 

[marksman]

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Good luck trying convince the world your phone is better when 1) it's too big, 2) Android is second rate, 3) it's never going to have the feel and look of iPhone (just like the others), and 4) all the while you're making fun of Apple users.

Next thread.

1) Having choice is a great thing. The Galaxy Note isn't for everyone, but for some its perfect who don't want to carry 2 devices being a tablet and phone.

2) How is Android 2nd rate? The basics of phone, contacts, and calendar it does just as well if not better. With ICS 4.0 it is a superior user experience over iOS 5.

3) That is fine if you like the look of the iPhone.

4) The iPhone is fair game for Samsung and others to go after as it has the most market share in the US. MS will do it soon to.

The problem with most iOS users is that the whole thing has become a religion as opposed to using what technologies will work the best for them. None of the manufacturers have a lock on this.

So for people who don't want to carry two devices they carry one that is a bad phone and bad tablet.

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Feels like a bit of ********* to me.

<rant snipped>

Samsung is clearly trying to compete. I wish Apple would just buy them, dissolve their mobile phone department and get it over with. Petty fools.

Samsung has assets of $343 billion, Apple has assets of $140 billion. So, please tell me how you plan to advise Mr. Tim Cook on how to run his company? Next time think before posting.

Today's lesson: Apple can't buy everything.

Actually apple could more easily buy Samsung than vice versa. People who don't think it would be possible for apple to buy Samsung (leaving out government issues and regulations) don't understand how businesses work and how they are bought and sold.

 

[MonkeyBrainz]

Is anyone else bothered by the not-so-subtle racist undertones in this ad? I find it pretty offensive really...

Didn't really think about it, but yes... that may have also contributed to my cringing during the video. :/

 

[macmastersam]

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And exactly how is apple not pissed off because of this ad?

 

[griz]

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Apple's own Cards app can make a very nice birthday card with a photo and classy font.
Google maps can do the exact same think the guy with the Note did.
And Office squared Plus is a free PowerPoint editor for the iPhone.

Just because some random person who only uses their smart phone to make phone calls can't do it doesn't mean it can't be done.
I'm betting her phone has only the stock app set in it and she hasn't even been to the app store.

Hey Samsung, take your well spun add out in front of an Apple store and let's see how it goes.

 

[Apple...]

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And exactly how is apple not pissed off because of this ad?

Why would they be? They're probably laughing.

Anyways, if I'm ever walking around someday, and happen to see them making a similar commercial, I will turn into Remi Gaillard's "Urban Touchdown", run up, grab the Note, smash it on the concrete, and runaway screaming "Oh!".

 

[Peace]

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And exactly how is apple not pissed off because of this ad?

why should they be ? Its the human race that should marvel at the idiocy of the commercial in the first place.

did anybody notice that this commercial seemed similar to the windows commercials from a couple of years ago ?

seems like the same ad agency made both.

 

[MordechaiCarver]

Soooo...what happens when the Samsung user loses the stylus?

"My phone can't do that (anymore)"!

 

[Caliber26]

She has got to be the most annoying person in a commercial, ever, with that phony giggling and her nonstop "I/my phone can't do that!!".

FWIW, though, the guy with the Note is pretty cute.

 

[sazivad]

...(1) With ICS 4.0 it is a superior user experience over iOS 5...
<snip>
...(2) The problem with most iOS users is that the whole thing has become a religion...

(1) is an opinion, which you are entitled to, but is not fact.
(2) is a generalization, which may appear to be true but doesn't really have any evidence to back it up (that I'm aware of).

 

[MACENZ]

****!!

****..I own a iphone 3GS and I still think its the best phone on the market...PERIOD!! The design is like no other and its the best version of the ice breaker in this market. Personally, it will be sad to let it go, but the only way i would ever consider to move to another phone, it will have to blow my mind and right now nothing has. I still believe in Steve's original idea and I will stick with it till she dies out of respect!!

 

[retry4]

?

WTF?!?

That dumb commercial has no point.

And why is that guy holding a tv in his hand... Oh wait... It's supposed to be a PHONE. IT HAS THE HUGEST SCREEN IN THE WORLD.

 

[sazivad]

Including iCards

The actual Cards app, by Apple, is right here.

(Free Apple ad FTW )