A new Samsung Galaxy S4 ad retreads a familiar Samsung Electronics America advertising theme: That only your goofy parents and other assorted “old people” own Apple iPhones.
The 90-second ad, which takes place at a graduation pool party, highlights features of the new Samsung device, for example, taking considerable pains to slather young people’s fingers in rib sauce and sunblock in order to show off Samsung’s gimmicky new Air Gesture feature.
Luckily for Samsung, nobody drops their cheap, plastic phone on the concrete pool deck. The ad also inexplicably trumpets how a Galaxy S4 can act as a remote control for a TV set, something we’ve been doing with our iPhones and iPads for years:
MacDailyNews Take: It remains to be seen how long Samsung will continue trying to peg Apple iPhone as the phone for older people.
Apple likely hopes that Samsung continues it forever, as the U.S. population – and many populations around the world – age considerably.
Limiting your target market in the US to 30.6 million adults under 25, while trumpeting iPhone as the smartphone for those over 25, or some 204 million people, just doesn’t seem like a very sound strategy. Especially since the older demographics have far more disposable income. Samsung’s strategy is fatally flawed on many levels, from basic math on up.
The fact is that, regardless of these type of ads, Apple’s iPhone continues to top U.S. teens’ buying preference surveys by a wide margin. Samsung’s marketing strategy of pitching to 30 million while denigrating and alienating over 200 million isn’t bearing any fruit: comScore: Apple outgrew both Samsung and Google’s Android in U.S. smartphone market share – May 3, 2013.
More, please, Samsung.
Related articles:
comScore: Apple outgrew both Samsung and Google’s Android in U.S. smartphone market share – May 3, 2013
Over half of Samsung Galaxy S4′s advertised 16GB storage capacity eaten up by Android and Samsung bloatware – May 1, 2013
Samsung’s cheap, plastic Galaxy S4 significantly more breakable Apple’s iPhone 5 – April 29, 2013
Yankee Group: Apple continues to eat Samsung’s lunch; customer loyalty will drive iPhone ownership past Android’s peak – April 26, 2013
World’s best-selling smartphone: Apple iPhone 5; iPhone 4S #2, third place Samsung Galaxy 3 brings up rear – February 20, 2013
These ads make me embarrassed for Samsung and the 12 year olds that created it. Lame is upset to be compared to these ads.
What a sad bunch of crass posts from poorly educated rude people who resort to potty talk. I had hoped that there was some way to convince people to be noble and rise to their potential here.
“I had hoped that there was some way to convince people to be noble and rise to their potential here.”
While hoping you were correct, I didn’t think it would happen. The continuing name calling and swearing in the face of a blizzard of down-voting indicates to me either:
1. An enjoyment of afflicting pain – psychopath
2. Or a complete disregard of their effects on others – sociopath.
I tend to think it is #1, since they are choosing to come here and choosing to post, with no other “reward” than the act itself.
Is there a psychiatrist or therapist in the house?
(1) Belittle iPhone users are NOT the best strategy to lure them away from Apple to Samsung, someone from Samsung should attend basic Psychology and Business classes again and again.
(2) As an Apple shareholder, investor, iPhone, iPod, iPad, iPad Mini, AppleTV, MacBook Air, MacPro, and iMac user. I stay (and continue) with Apple because of its excellent customer/shopping/eco-system experiences and products quality.
(3) Listen Samsung, equipment size does not matter if you can not even utilize it in a quality way and satisfactory users. I understand all your equipment are kinda coming up short in size and your fascination with bigger size.
Wow. Apple better start to fight back. I have a lot of friends who bought Samsung phones. They are totally happy with them and I’ve seen reactions where they absolutely defend their purchase of galaxy or whichever and couldn’t care less about iPhones. Honestly. Name one game changing advantage iPhone really has. Samsung is crushing with market share. Isn’t that what apple is supposed to be achieving? Apples cutesy adds appeal to gramma and gramps. Or new parents. And that is if you ever see an add. Samsung and android are certainly eating some of apples lunch. And everyone I knows it. I’m an apple guy who is waiting and waiting for more out of apple. C’mon.
Are you “converting” to the Dark Side?
“I have a lot of friends who bought Samsung phones. They are totally happy with them…”
Of course they are. After having spent money on the product, the mind rationalizes the purchase.
“Isn’t that what apple is supposed to be achieving?”
No. You sir, don’t understand Apple. Apple doesn’t chase market share.
“Name one game changing advantage iPhone really has.”
Apple utterly transformed the phone industry. They remain the leader. EVERY other phone company looks to the iPhone for what to copy. Not to Samsung. Not to HTC. Not to RIM, Microscum, or anyone else.
“Samsung is crushing with market share. Isn’t that what apple is supposed to be achieving?”
No.
As many people have posted — Raw marketshare doesn’t matter. Apple makes more money from the iPhone than ALL other companies making ALL other phones. Rusty bicycles are crushing Mercedes with market share in India. Mercedes isn’t worried, and they’re not going to stoop to manufacturing rusty bicycles.
“I’m an apple guy who is waiting and waiting for more out of apple.”
Apple will continue to lead and continue to be the best overall system – by far. As with PCs, we can point at one Winblows PC that maybe has a faster clock speed, another that has a bigger hard drive and another that has a larger screen. All immaterial. The object is not to surpass EVERY spec from EVERY other computer company. (What a ridiculous, clunky machine that would be.) The object, I think, is to produce a machine that surpasses all others in quality and in overall experience and utility for the majority of people. Apple does that in computers —- and in phones.
My brother just bought a Galaxy for my aged mother.
Gave up his two iPhones to get three Galaxies for a much cheaper price on different carrier, apparently.
My mother was confused by my brother calling her Galaxy an iPhone!
😆 Galaxy’s are for the aged.
did they mentioned that the SGS 4 needs 50% of the storage (16GB version) for the Android OS and Samsung Software????
It’s quite a boring ad really. The people come across as smug and annoying.
The ad is funny, however samsung’s phone is a litte too big for my taste.
Announcing the galaxy 5678, with testicular controlled music! Samsung innovates the future once again!
By simply manipulating ones testicles, the volume of the phone can be raised or lowered. When, oh, god, when will Apple finally catch up?!?
Consumers have been clamping for genital based controls, and Samsung has delivered. Real innovation is finally in your hands.
I can pu 2 and 2 together here 😉 what was samsung thinking of when not having to touch the screen? :0 pornographic content taking up so much space on their 16gb oh i i meant 8gb phone?
I’m an ‘Oldie’ and a proud iPhone 5 owner and so are all my other younger-older associates and friends. So much for all your ‘Ballyhoo & Hoopla’ Sammy!
I am a 66 year old gram who has had every model of iPhone and iPad that Apple has made! I live in a house w 2 retina display MacBook Pros, an iMac, and an Apple TV 3. I teach iPad classes in a retirement community which r constantly full. I will never buy a Samsung anything. My grandkids love to get MY Apple hand me downs! Enuf said!
Better owning a device that actually may last longer than a piece of cheap Korean plastic in a blender… Oh, and one that has features and apps that actually work versus bloat ware that every third-party hack-house on earth has bundled into the manufacturers BLOB….
Have fun with your boat anchors…
I could have told you 10 years ago which of my friends would be buying the Samsung over the Apple if you had just asked me this – “In 10 years there will be an amazing phone that works like a mobile computer. There will be a cheap copy of this phone with a plastic case, poor GUI, diminished built in feature-set, but a bigger screen. Which of your friends will buy the cheap copy just to be different.”
I’m somewhat between these two generations in this commercial and I noticed they never show the phone next to any of the kids’ heads, because one looks like a total schmuck holding a phablet up to one’s head – like you couldn’t afford a small cellphone?
Taken to the logical conclusion some older horndog will get the phone to impress the young chicks and realize that the Samdung makes his life miserable when he needs it to do his job and manage his finances.
I hang around a highly frequented coffee pour house across the street from a major university. Everyone has an iPhone. I have only seen one student with a Samsung Galaxy S4. As for me, I am pushing 70. I have an iPhone 5 and love it, especially Siri (one day I asked Siri, “Do you love me?” She replied,”Does Apple make iphones?” – sweet!).
Everytime i watch Samsung ads, i can only hope Apple have something better than them. But Apple disappoints me everytime. Im an Apple fan. I hv a macbook pro and an iphone 5. But the iphone is like any other ordinary phone. Nothin special about it. All the news abt apple acquiring this and that, but in the end it is still crap! If the next iphone, is still gg to be crap im getting a S4!!!
Pssst…ALL phones are antiquated. Tablet. Get one.
Don’t worry, everyone knows simple and idiotproof is also great for young children too who just call and text and play games on their phones. So add them to all the old people.
I see a lot of Steve Jobs Apple Thumpers here, Samsung is just saying that if you want to be “hip”, get the Galaxy S4. Why would you want to buy the iPhone when it limits what you can do with that phone? Sure, jailbreak it, but if it needs to be fixed or looked at at an Apple Store you have to restore it and go through all that bullshit. How pointless.