If you’ve seen many Samsung commercials, you’ve probably noticed a common theme: Samsung has a bit of a… fascination with Apple. The company can’t seem to release a commercial that doesn’t take at least a subtle (and usually a not-at-all subtle) shot not only at Apple but at Apple’s fans.
Back in January Samsung released a commercial in which a group of disheveled Apple fans lamented that they’d been “Samsunged” when they discovered that the Galaxy S II had built-in navigation features. Another commercial during the Super Bowl took a similar approach (though wisely ditched the use of the word “Samsunged” in favor of a musical number by The Darkness). Most recently, the Samsung released a teaser for the Galaxy S III that subtly (well, more subtly than is normal for a Samsung commercial) compared iPhone users to sheep.
Finally, earlier this week Samsung went beyond commercials and actually hired a mob of protesters to stand outside of an Apple Store in Australia dressed all in black and chant “Wake Up” while holding black signs that said “Wake Up.” They arrived outside the store in a large black bus that said… wait for it… “Wake Up.”
By fortunate coincidence, Australian blogger Nate Burr happened to be present at the store and captured some of the protest on video (using his iPhone, presumably). Check out the video below:
As you can tell from the video, no one on the scene was able to figure out exactly what they were supposed to “wake up” from. After a little digging, Australian blog Mumbrella managed to trace the campaign to a marketing agency called Tongue. Tongue is also responsible for the Wake Up Australia website, which consists of a counter counting down the seconds until May 6th (the anticipated launch date of the Galaxy S III in Australia).
Interestingly Mumbrella also points to a report earlier in the week by The Daily Mail, who discovered a website called “tgeltaayehxt,” which is an anagram of “The Next Galaxy.” That sight counts down to the May 3 media event where Samsung will announce the Galaxy S III.
Interestingly, both the invitation and the website found by the Daily Mail seem to refer to the phone as “the Next Galaxy,” rather than the Galaxy S III, as it’s widely been expected to be called. If you pay any attention to news concerning Apple products, that change in naming practices might sound familiar.
Whether you love Apple or hate them, you’ve got to admit that Samsung’s fixation is a little weird, especially when you consider that insulting the very people to whom you’re trying to market your products is not usually an effective marketing strategy.
What do you think? Is Samsung’s flash mob/protest a good marketing move, or not? Is Samsung a little to focused on making fun of Apple, or do Apple fans need to be taken down a peg? Sound off in the comments.