∞ Samsung phone ad makes fun of iPhone users

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Samsung’s new television ad for their Galaxy S II smartphone focuses on ridiculing Apple customers who wait in line for hours to get an iPhone.

The ad depicts line of white earbud-clad customers lined up behind barricades, noting that it’ll still be hours before they get in the door. They notice a man carrying a Samsung Galaxy S II, and remark about the phone’s large screen and “4G speed.”

It’s worth noting, though, that even in Samsung’s ad, the Apple customers don’t get out of line.

Samsung’s envy is understandable – they were practically giving their Galaxy S II phones away in Sydney, Australia the week that Apple released the iPhone 4S, yet they couldn’t muster a fraction of the interest that the iPhone 4S generated.



  • http://twitter.com/leicaman leicaman

    Can you say backfire? 

    And the woman’s smug look is certainly attractive.

    /sarcasm

  • D Pauw

    We all know this lead to the Xoom killing the iPad. The iPhone is now on notice!

  • His Shadow

    Ugh. Never mind their assertion that 4G matters (given that the 4S has the same speeds) it’s just not that funny. The standard tropes are there, but there is no subtlety. Contrast this to the Microsoft ads (I can’t believe I’m saying this) that have no point other than “Hey. We think you need to spend less time looking at your phone and we’ve built an interface to that effect”. The MS ads are funny, but don’t feel the need to hang a lantern on it. As with too many of these putative competitiors, not only are they unable to not mention Apple, they send the wrong message. Namely “You are stupid, therefore you should buy a Samsung”.

    • http://www.thegraphicmac.com JimD

      I’m actually surprised they didn’t make some reference to “you’re holding it wrong” in the ad. That would have been classic!

      • His Shadow

        But they did mention the iOS 5 battery issue, which given the miserable battery life of Android phones until very recently (unless this still has not been fixed?) which is the pot calling the kettle black.

        • http://www.thegraphicmac.com JimD

          True. I didn’t even pick up on that little nugget. I did notice they didn’t have dancing girls jumping across the screen proclaiming the fact that Android is an “OPEN” operating system. Perhaps the phone manufacturers learned what Google themselves don’t want to accept – which is that nobody cares.

    • Anonymous

      The 4s does not have the same speeds as the galaxy s2 but it does have double the graphics ability.

    • http://mangochut.net/ mangochutney

      The Microsoft ads actually made me check out the OS and some of the phones, because I think they’d be great for my parents.

      The Samsung ad just tells me that the S2 is supposedly better than the iPhone, but not how this will translate into an advantage for me.

      Samsung still doesn’t get it.

      • His Shadow

        Well, exactly. And as noted, Microsoft’s ads are not targeting any particular user or device. They are making a claim for the improved functionality of their own device, not drawing attention to competitors.

  • http://www.thegraphicmac.com JimD

    A clever ad. However, outside of the relatively small tech/geek crowd, I’m not sure anyone would get the humor behind it.

    • Guest

      It’s a cute joke to perpetuate a fanboy stereo type, but it’s insulting to iPhone owners, so it’s a terrible ad. Samsung just called me a mindless idiot, I’m not going to even consider their products now.

      This ad only appeals to Android enthusiasts who think calling Apple customers fanboys is funny. This is not a smart idea.

      • http://www.thegraphicmac.com JimD

        I think they pretty much know they have little chance of Apple iPhone users switching to an Android device to begin with, so insulting us does them no measurable harm anyway.

    • His Shadow

      Good point. Another reason why the Microsoft ads are superior, because the aim of the MS ads is a common situation accessible to anyone. It’s not in “code”. The Samsung ad was evidently written by nerds for nerds, people glued to their devices reading tech blogs.

  • http://profiles.google.com/larry.davis Larry Davis

    Are they saying people won’t wait in line for Samsung phones?  Or that demand isn’t high enough?  Or that they’ve built so many that there is excess inventory?  Or is the message: if you’re impatient you can just get our stuff”?

    • His Shadow

      Frankly, they don’t know what they are saying. They took a collection of Gizmodo headlines and made an ad out of it…

  • http://jack.kingbrick.co.uk/ Jack

    I’ve seen no where Samsung call or imply iPhone users are being made “fun” of. Nor do I see them being called idiots.

    • His Shadow

      Are you being deliberately dense? The ad is not portraying the people in line in a favourable light. 

      • http://jack.kingbrick.co.uk/ Jack

        No. There’s nothing wrong with queuing for a product nor is there anything wrong with supporting an obviously popular and highly-acclaimed product or brand. If people aren’t sold on the idea of another’s “future” then why is that wrong?

    • Peter Cohen

      You have to be astoundingly obtuse not to recognize Samsung’s ad is directed squarely at Apple enthusiasts – from the white earbuds to the store with app icons appliquéd to the windows (which, ironically, Samsung has appropriated for its own store displays).

      • Adamviden

        This seems like it hits close to home for iPhone users. Its a damn travesty! Haha! Looks like some iPhone users need to take their panties out of a bunch and take it in stride. It is what it is and some truths hurt a bit more. Too funny….

        • Steven Fisher

          Hurts? No. There’s no self-awareness in there, let alone awareness of iPhone users. It’s several poorly-aimed punches at iPhone users, all of which miss. But the swing and the miss is enough tao annoy at the sheer stupidity of the ad.

  • Gregz0r

    Haters gonn’ hate.

  • Anonymous

    The ad just reeks of desperation. OTOH, since they can’t use the line “but it has Flash” anymore, there’s probably not much else they could come up with.

  • Anonymous

    The ad might have been more effective if folks had actually gotten out of line. 

    Then again the folks in line are probably aware that the Samsung battery isn’t all that either, that 4g isn’t everywhere so who cares if the phone has it if you can’t use it, etc.

    Plus the fact that most of the world isn’t going to get the jokes anyway because they don’t really pay attention. they buy Apple because Apple hasn’t let them down yet and that’s enough for them.

  • http://twitter.com/Moeskido Moeskido

    Thanks, Samsung. You’ve effectively recalled the childish impact of Apple’s old “lemmings” commercial, but this time aimed it at nerd consumers instead of enterprise buyers.

  • http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100000747530164 Michael Curry

    Well it is obvious that Samsung started this just prior to the holiday shopping frenzy, iPhone has overall consideration rate within consumers and is gaining market share within the business enterprise. In our company alone they replaced every single highly expensive business telephone with a iPhone docked into a ifusion smart station running Cisco mobile app. I now have one devise for all my personal and business communications needs. They told us all the power saving alone in one year from the old desk phone paid for the entire project. Nobody at this point can come close to this however please try for us consumers really enjoy all the new and innovated products developed from the spirit of competition.

    • Peter Cohen

      Cool – you guys are using iFusion SmartStations. I was just asking on Twitter yesterday what happened to those things. What do you think?

  • Anonymous

    Use official links or face copyright violations

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X4VHzNEWIqA&feature=mfu_in_order&list=UL

  • http://canadiantechblogger.com/ Brad

    Faillluree

  • Michael Edwards

    I’ve got a malfunctioning iPhone 4S … but I still don’t like to be called a douchebag by Samsung … and I will go back to Nokia before I go to a company that has deliberately insulted me.

  • NotAFanboy

    Samsung should concentrate on making a better quality product http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-15870020