Ina Fried

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Samsung Mocks “Cult of Apple” in Ad for Galaxy S II

Samsung has come up with a doozy of a commercial contrasting its Galaxy S II with Apple’s iPhone.

The video spot hits all of the soft points of the iPhone 4S when compared with the Galaxy S II, namely the Apple device’s smaller screen size and lack of support for faster 4G wireless networks.

But, more than anything, it mocks Apple’s notoriously cult-like followers. The ad shows Apple fans across the country spending hours waiting to buy the latest iPhone, even though it looks the same as the old one.

“Guys, I’m so amped, I could stay here for three weeks,” says one white-earphoned hipster, waiting in a long line outside what is clearly an Apple store.

“Nine hours down and we’re almost in the door,” a woman in San Francisco says proudly.

The Apple fans are distracted, though, when they catch sight of the Galaxy S II (including a new white model just now hitting the U.S.). Despite being jealous of the bigger-screen Galaxy S II, the Apple faithful stick by their phone.

“I could never get a Samsung — I’m creative,” says one.

“Dude, you’re a barista,” his friend replies.

It’s a clever ad that shows why someone might want something other than an iPhone, without resorting to a bunch of “speeds and feeds” — the tactic commonly taken by those looking to take on Apple. It also doesn’t hurt that the ad is for the Galaxy S II, a thin and powerful phone that, while still new to the U.S. market, has sold millions of units worldwide.

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The problem with the Billionaire Savior phase of the newspaper collapse has always been that billionaires don’t tend to like the kind of authority-questioning journalism that upsets the status quo.

— Ryan Chittum, writing in the Columbia Journalism Review about the promise of Pierre Omidyar’s new media venture with Glenn Greenwald