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Timzer

macrumors 6502
Nov 10, 2011
334
0
At best they only showed that the Note 2 has a camera...Geez great...Every other phone on the market has one too.

Yeah don't you just hate when a company puts out a commercial showing only one feature that other competitors already have had for years? Features like panoramic shot or a noise cancellation mic? "Geez great" indeed. :rolleyes:

BTW, in case you didn't get it, this was 1st and foremost a brand commercial. The other bits were just gravy.
 

chris2k5

macrumors 6502a
Jun 30, 2010
687
0
Yeah don't you just hate when a company puts out a commercial showing only one feature that other competitors already have had for years? Features like panoramic shot or a noise cancellation mic? "Geez great" indeed. :rolleyes:

BTW, in case you didn't get it, this was 1st and foremost a brand commercial. The other bits were just gravy.

It was a waste of money and time. Samsung tries too hard. Epic fail on their part - They don't get commercials right like Apple.
 

0dev

macrumors 68040
Dec 22, 2009
3,947
24
127.0.0.1
To everyone saying the Samsung commercial doesn't show the features of the product, I present to you the Superbowl commercial Apple did when the iPhone was first announced:


Does that actually tell you anything about the product, or does it just make it look cool? The point of both these ads was to advertise a brand for sure and there's nothing wrong with that. Apple just doesn't do it anymore because their iPhone brand speaks for itself. Samsung's Galaxy S brand is still catching up, however, so they need to create ads that make their products appear desirable. Like I said in the previous page I think this ad did that well.
 

mattopotamus

macrumors G5
Jun 12, 2012
14,738
6,109
I thought the commercial they actually chose for the super bowl was better than this one. And I totally agree with you odev....they were trying to image their brand as cool by having two of the funniest stars in Hollywood using their product
 

onthecouchagain

macrumors 604
Mar 29, 2011
7,382
2
To everyone saying the Samsung commercial doesn't show the features of the product, I present to you the Superbowl commercial Apple did when the iPhone was first announced:

YouTube: video

Does that actually tell you anything about the product, or does it just make it look cool? The point of both these ads was to advertise a brand for sure and there's nothing wrong with that. Apple just doesn't do it anymore because their iPhone brand speaks for itself. Samsung's Galaxy S brand is still catching up, however, so they need to create ads that make their products appear desirable. Like I said in the previous page I think this ad did that well.

Nice find. Let's see how many will come forward and say with equal conviction that if the ad doesn't show the product in use and/or doesn't show a new product that it is a "useless" and wasteful ad.

Let's hear it...!
 

Irishman

macrumors 68040
Nov 2, 2006
3,449
859
Nice find. Let's see how many will come forward and say with equal conviction that if the ad doesn't show the product in use and/or doesn't show a new product that it is a "useless" and wasteful ad.

Let's hear it...!

To be fair, the ad cited above DID show the product, if you watch the whole thing through, it's shown in a clear line of evolution of the phone, showing the iPhone as the latest step in that line.

I don't think you have to tease the message out of it.

What was the message of the Samsung ad?
 
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0dev

macrumors 68040
Dec 22, 2009
3,947
24
127.0.0.1
To be fair, the ad cited above DID show the product, if you watch the whole thing through, it's shown in a clear line of evolution of the phone, showing the iPhone as the latest step in that line.

I don't think you have to tease the message out of it.

What was the message of the Samsung ad?

It showed the product right at the end but the bulk of it was just clips of people using phones in films. It didn't tell the audience what the iPhone did that was so special, did it? But what it did do is create interest from customers because Apple has a cool new thing out.

Samsung's ad here is much the same. It showed the products briefly (everyone in the commercial was using some sort of Samsung product) but the focus was on creating interest in the brand.

If anything, the Samsung ad does more to show what the products actually do since at the beginning a Note II was being used to retouch a photo with the S Pen, then they use S Beam later and do a video call on a Samsung tablet. All the iPhone ad did in terms of product features was say "hello, this is what our phone looks like."

Don't get me wrong, I'm not insulting Apple's ad, but you can't use the whole "Samsung is crap because their ads don't solely focus on demonstrating simple product features" argument if Apple did the same thing. Besides, if Samsung had gone down that route, you'd be arguing that Samsung copied Apple's ads.
 
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mattopotamus

macrumors G5
Jun 12, 2012
14,738
6,109
It showed the product right at the end but the bulk of it was just clips of people using phones in films. It didn't tell the audience what the iPhone did that was so special, did it? But what it did do is create interest from customers because Apple has a cool new thing out.

Samsung's ad here is much the same. It showed the products briefly (everyone in the commercial was using some sort of Samsung product) but the focus was on creating interest in the brand.

If anything, the Samsung ad does more to show what the products actually do since at the beginning a Note II was being used to retouch a photo. All the iPhone ad did in terms of product features was say "hello, this is what our phone looks like."

Don't get me wrong, I'm not insulting Apple's ad, but you can't use the whole "Samsung is crap because their ads don't solely focus on demonstrating simple product features" argument if Apple did the same thing. Besides, if Samsung had gone down that route, you'd be arguing that Samsung copied Apple's ads.

and I can honestly say the samsung ad was probably one of 3 that actually caught my interest.
 

0dev

macrumors 68040
Dec 22, 2009
3,947
24
127.0.0.1
I also want to point out that advertising is not about selling a product, it's about selling a lifestyle.

Apple's current line of ads sell a fantasy land where everything just works instantly and perfectly and you're surrounded by happy family members. Like the one for the panoramic photo feature where the guy takes a photo of a line of kids. The message in all these ads is, you buy this phone, and you will have a seamlessly happy life. This of course reflects Apple's "everything just works" rhetoric.

Notice how there's an underlying tone even in Apple's ads? They are not about the features themselves at all. Who cares about the panorama feature really? We all know every other phone on the market has had it for years. But the demonstration of it in the ad is about the lifestyle of the person using it. And notice how we never see who's using the phone either. That's because you're meant to fill it in with yourself.

The bottom line is, Apple's ads are not meant to make you go "I have to buy this phone because it has a panoramic photo feature" or "I need this noise cancelling mic." It's meant to appeal to your emotions and make you buy the iPhone because at some subconscious level you believe it will make you happier and make your life better. That is how advertising works.

Now look at Samsung's ads here. They're going for a different approach but they're aiming for a similar result. You see these famous actors talk up Samsung and use these phones and you're laughing along. It makes you feel good about Samsung as a company and you think, hey, "these guys are cool, if I get one of those phones I'll be cool as well."

That's why attack ads work so well too. They play to emotions. Ads like this work because they take advantage of the us vs. them mentality of phone geeks and, again, they create comic value.

If anything Samsung's ads are a lot less patronising to their potential customers. They're not saying "we need to sit you down and show you how to use a camera", they're saying "we have the latest features right here, right now, let other people wait a few years and get it yourself today."

If you are going to criticise advertisements you have to keep all this in mind. The golden rule of advertisements is that they do not sell a product, they sell a lifestyle. Whether or not they show what the product does isn't even important. What matters is that they make the viewer associate the right positive emotions towards the company trying to sell whatever it is they're selling.
 

onthecouchagain

macrumors 604
Mar 29, 2011
7,382
2
To be fair, the ad cited above DID show the product, if you watch the whole thing through, it's shown in a clear line of evolution of the phone, showing the iPhone as the latest step in that line.

I don't think you have to tease the message out of it.

What was the message of the Samsung ad?


Irishman, either you haven't followed this thread carefully enough, are too dense to follow it, or you are trolling. Here is the quote that most of us are responding to:

These Samsung ads are useless. Doesn't show the product and it's features.

Then Odev shows an ad that Apple produced that shows the product arguably even less than the Samsung ads (which, again, demonstrated briefly the S-Pen, S-Beam, the camera, video conferencing...).

And you can say with a straight face, "To be fair" and then go on to defend it along the lines of what Chris2k5 says?

Truly incredible.

If you can't recognize that you are moving the goal posts, playing unfairly, and being inconsistent in your bias, then there is really no helping you.

And I happen to really like the Apple ad.

----------

I also want to point out that advertising is not about selling a product, it's about selling a lifestyle.

Apple's current line of ads sell a fantasy land where everything just works instantly and perfectly and you're surrounded by happy family members. Like the one for the panoramic photo feature where the guy takes a photo of a line of kids. The message in all these ads is, you buy this phone, and you will have a seamlessly happy life. This of course reflects Apple's "everything just works" rhetoric.

Notice how there's an underlying tone even in Apple's ads? They are not about the features themselves at all. Who cares about the panorama feature really? We all know every other phone on the market has had it for years. But the demonstration of it in the ad is about the lifestyle of the person using it. And notice how we never see who's using the phone either. That's because you're meant to fill it in with yourself.

The bottom line is, Apple's ads are not meant to make you go "I have to buy this phone because it has a panoramic photo feature" or "I need this noise cancelling mic." It's meant to appeal to your emotions and make you buy the iPhone because at some subconscious level you believe it will make you happier and make your life better. That is how advertising works.

Now look at Samsung's ads here. They're going for a different approach but they're aiming for a similar result. You see these famous actors talk up Samsung and use these phones and you're laughing along. It makes you feel good about Samsung as a company and you think, hey, "these guys are cool, if I get one of those phones I'll be cool as well."

That's why attack ads work so well too. They play to emotions. Ads like this work because they take advantage of the us vs. them mentality of phone geeks and, again, they create comic value.

If anything Samsung's ads are a lot less patronising to their potential customers. They're not saying "we need to sit you down and show you how to use a camera", they're saying "we have the latest features right here, right now, let other people wait a few years and get it yourself today."

If you are going to criticise advertisements you have to keep all this in mind. The golden rule of advertisements is that they do not sell a product, they sell a lifestyle. Whether or not they show what the product does isn't even important. What matters is that they make the viewer associate the right positive emotions towards the company trying to sell whatever it is they're selling.


As someone that works in advertising... +1,000.
 

onthecouchagain

macrumors 604
Mar 29, 2011
7,382
2
What did everyone think of the Blackberry Superbowl ad?



Personally, I'm not ready to see BB use comedy. I would need something a little more inspiring and motivating, something that would have roped me back and reconsider BB as a brand. Something more meaningful, something about the new direction, the re-brand; something that ensures this is truly a come back victory.

I don't think humor was the way to do it.
 

2298754

Cancelled
Jun 21, 2010
4,890
941
The commercial was pretty funny. All of my friends were laughing. These commercials are better than anything that Apple has put out recently
 

0dev

macrumors 68040
Dec 22, 2009
3,947
24
127.0.0.1
What did everyone think of the Blackberry Superbowl ad?

YouTube: video


Personally, I'm not ready to see BB use comedy. I would need something a little more inspiring and motivating, something that would have roped me back and reconsider BB as a brand. Something more meaningful, something about the new direction, the re-brand; something that ensures this is truly a come back victory.

I don't think humor was the way to do it.

That whole trope they used of their product being able to do clearly impossible things is so overused in ads these days that it wasn't even funny or interesting. I get what they're trying to say about the OS but the ad itself is unoriginal and lacks any kind of substance and they didn't even really put emphasis on it being a totally new system.

Overall it's very forgettable and it's just not enough to really gauge a positive emotional reaction from the audience IMO, aside from perhaps a sigh and the phrase "hey look, BlackBerries still exist."
 

Irishman

macrumors 68040
Nov 2, 2006
3,449
859
Don't get me wrong, I'm not insulting Apple's ad, but you can't use the whole "Samsung is crap because their ads don't solely focus on demonstrating simple product features" argument if Apple did the same thing. Besides, if Samsung had gone down that route, you'd be arguing that Samsung copied Apple's ads.

I don't believe I was arguing that.
 

Irishman

macrumors 68040
Nov 2, 2006
3,449
859
Irishman, either you haven't followed this thread carefully enough, are too dense to follow it, or you are trolling. Here is the quote that most of us are responding to....

I quoted the post I was responding to.

Not...

too...

difficult.
 

beyondthepale35

macrumors regular
Oct 26, 2012
101
4
The blinders being put on in this thread are laughable. Its ok to criticize Apple guys, Steve Jobs isnt Jesus.
 

beyondthepale35

macrumors regular
Oct 26, 2012
101
4
I'd go one step further; it's necessary to.

It's the real fans that can be honest about Apple.

I am the first person to admit I'm a windows guy. But I can admit that they do make great products that for most people do plenty enough to justify their prices. Just seems that the people who realize they arent perfect are the ones who get drowned out by forum idiots who can make any argument pro apple in their twisted minds, regardless of how ridiculous it seems to any normal human being. I laugh everytime I see an Apple commercial because they have really been grasping at straws with the features of the 5. Its one thing to advertise a feature that is exciting/new; microphones and panoramas are not really what I would put into that category. Anyone who says otherwise is lying to themselves. Same with anyone complaining about this Samsung commercial, I mean have you seen some of the stupid crap that gets put out on TV to try and sell stuff? If Seth Rogen and Paul Rudd make you think of Samsung, then theyve done their jobs. Not much else to it.
 

0dev

macrumors 68040
Dec 22, 2009
3,947
24
127.0.0.1
I am the first person to admit I'm a windows guy. But I can admit that they do make great products that for most people do plenty enough to justify their prices. Just seems that the people who realize they arent perfect are the ones who get drowned out by forum idiots who can make any argument pro apple in their twisted minds, regardless of how ridiculous it seems to any normal human being. I laugh everytime I see an Apple commercial because they have really been grasping at straws with the features of the 5. Its one thing to advertise a feature that is exciting/new; microphones and panoramas are not really what I would put into that category. Anyone who says otherwise is lying to themselves. Same with anyone complaining about this Samsung commercial, I mean have you seen some of the stupid crap that gets put out on TV to try and sell stuff? If Seth Rogen and Paul Rudd make you think of Samsung, then theyve done their jobs. Not much else to it.

Exactly.

I love Apple's laptops for example, I'm typing this right now on a brand new MBP (well it's only six months old anyway). They make beautiful hardware too, and that includes for the iPhone. The iPhone 5's design is dated but it still looks and feels beautiful.

However, as much as I do like Apple, I don't see the point in deluding myself into thinking everything they make is perfect and everything their competitors make is trash. As far as I'm concerned, the iPhone was revolutionary in 2007 and a few years afterwards, but now in 2013 it's fallen behind the competition and Samsung make better phones. I also think Samsung's ads are funny while Apple's are a bit dull.

Is that just my opinion? Of course. Should it mean anything to anyone else? No. But my point is, we should look at what products we think are best for us instead of blindly buying everything Apple makes. If Apple's products are the best for you, great, buy them, but don't act like an evangelist and shout about how they're superior to everything else on the market. No, they're simply better for your needs. Leave it at that and move on.
 

onthecouchagain

macrumors 604
Mar 29, 2011
7,382
2
We know your feelings on the matter.

Another folly is that anyone who criticizes Apple must hate Apple. What an ignorant line of thought.

I'll just leave this here:

At this point in time, I own zero Samsung devices, and multiple Apple devices, including a MBA that's connected to a Thunderbolt Display, all of which is connected to the wonderful internet through my Airport Extreme. Sitting nearby is my iPad 3rd Gen (which I used to type most of my posts last night). In the other room, there's an iMac. I was also a former 4S owner.

Yet, I'm able to praise Samsung for what they've been doing lately, and criticize Apple for what they haven't been doing. That's honesty.

In the same vain, I'm clearly now a big Android fan, yet I'm able to criticize the Nexus 4 for it's unfortunate many shortcomings. I've even created an entire thread about it.
 

onthecouchagain

macrumors 604
Mar 29, 2011
7,382
2
Steve Jobs’ ad man Ken Segall says Apple’s advertising has lost momentum to Samsung

http://9to5mac.com/2013/02/26/steve...les-advertising-has-lost-momentum-to-samsung/

While you can still argue that Macs and i-devices have a ton of appeal, you can’t argue that Apple is still untouchable when it comes to advertising…The fact is, it is being touched — often and effectively — by none other than Samsung…Samsung has made remarkable inroads in a very short time, for two big reasons.

According to Segall, the two big reasons Samsung’s advertising has eclipsed Apple’s is due to Sammy’s massive advertising budget and willingness to “bash away at Apple, delivering ads that are well produced, well written and seem to be striking a nerve.”


In contrast to Apple, which has been sticking to its product-based ads, Samsung has been scoring points with its people-based ads — most of which play off some growing negative perceptions about Apple… Samsung invested in a two-minute Super Bowl ad; Apple chose to remain silent. Samsung created a new story for the Oscars, tapping the eccentric Tim Burton; Apple ran only a variation of its more traditional product-centric campaign.

Segall also noted that the last time Apple attempted something new with its campaigns was with the controversial Olympics ads that were later taken down by the company.
 

jrswizzle

macrumors 603
Aug 23, 2012
6,107
129
McKinney, TX
Steve Jobs’ ad man Ken Segall says Apple’s advertising has lost momentum to Samsung

http://9to5mac.com/2013/02/26/steve...les-advertising-has-lost-momentum-to-samsung/

While you can still argue that Macs and i-devices have a ton of appeal, you can’t argue that Apple is still untouchable when it comes to advertising…The fact is, it is being touched — often and effectively — by none other than Samsung…Samsung has made remarkable inroads in a very short time, for two big reasons.

According to Segall, the two big reasons Samsung’s advertising has eclipsed Apple’s is due to Sammy’s massive advertising budget and willingness to “bash away at Apple, delivering ads that are well produced, well written and seem to be striking a nerve.”


In contrast to Apple, which has been sticking to its product-based ads, Samsung has been scoring points with its people-based ads — most of which play off some growing negative perceptions about Apple… Samsung invested in a two-minute Super Bowl ad; Apple chose to remain silent. Samsung created a new story for the Oscars, tapping the eccentric Tim Burton; Apple ran only a variation of its more traditional product-centric campaign.

Segall also noted that the last time Apple attempted something new with its campaigns was with the controversial Olympics ads that were later taken down by the company.

While I think some of Samsung's ads are funny (the SB one left me wanting....maybe because I knew it cost $15 million and expected more), I don't think they are "great ads".....

For example - Samsung's premise of their Unicorn Apocalypse ads is that GS3's and Notes are "safe for business".....unfortunately, the business they use is one where all the workers dress in jeans and are creating a video game about apocalyptic unicorns.....I'm not sure many businesses can relate - I know mine can't (boy that would be fun).

Also, they love to "make fun" of certain people - no matter the ad. They simply can't just showcase the product without getting a (not very well thought out, or wildly over the top) jab in. First it was at those standing in line waiting for the iPhone (wildly over done). Now its jabbing at those who carry around two phones....and the reason they make fun of those people in the ads is because they are seen to be behind the times (the woman using both an iPhone and BB because neither device can do everything)....

I HAVE to use two phones - (1) because my office is a video game studio and there are security standards and such they feel much more comfortable with iPhones and (2) I don't WANT to have clients calling me on my personal phone or emails popping up on my work phone about some funny thing my college roommate sends me.....

I know I don't represent everyone - but I'm the type of person (genuinely like Apple products and genuinely want/need to have two phones) that Samsung seems determined to drive further away from their camp.

All that said - Samsung is winning the marketing war right now with Apple. And while Apple is holding on (and still making gains toward the end of the year), the model they have in place won't be sustainable as other Android OEM's and BB10/WP8 get bigger. They can't simply hold on for 3/4 of the year and hope their flagship saves them (which, as far as sales go, the iP5 did last year). I don't want a huge change - don't want iOS to become like Android. Simple refinements and subtle changes in the way Apple does things will be enough for me - they still own the hardware and the software is great for plenty. Add a splash of innovation, and Apple will continue to reign.
 
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