The ongoing battle between Apple and Samsung just hopped from the courtroom to the TV box.
Samsung, with its latest ad for the Galaxy S II smartphone, takes direct shots at Apple, mocking the Apple super-fans who wait in long lines for the newest iPhone. Samsung's argument? There is a better phone -- namely, the Samsung Galaxy S II -- available without the wait and with better features.
Here's the full advertisement:
For those that can't watch, among the charges leveled by Samsung at Apple iPhone buyers are:
- They wait in long lines for a phone with inferior specs (no 4G, smaller screen).
- They bought a phone with a sketchy battery life.
- All they care about is showing off that they were early adopters. ("If it looks the same, how will people know I upgraded?")
- They equate creativity with owning Apple products. ("Dude, you're a barista.")
Ability of human beings to be simultaneously creative and employed as baristas notwithstanding, Samsung will be running these ads in 30-second form on Facebook and elsewhere starting soon, according to Business Insider.
In terms of hardware, Samsung is perhaps Apple's most legitimate competitor in the global smartphone market. It was recently widely reported that Samsung had overtaken Apple as the world's number one smartphone maker in the third quarter of 2011, though most expect Apple to regain that lead following the launch of the hot-selling iPhone 4S.
Samsung's Galaxy Nexus, the first smartphone running Android 4.0 "Ice Cream Sandwich," is set to launch in the United States in December and become the top-of-the-line Android phone and a direct competitor to the latest Apple phone.
In countries around the globe, Samsung and Apple are currently engaged in a growing number of lawsuits over the designs of the iPhone/iPad and Samsung's Galaxy smartphones/tablets. (Click here for an overview of the legal battle between the two tech behemoths.)
In an interview with Business Insider, two Samsung marketing execs described their intended audience for the anti-iPhone ads.
"We're not targeting fanboys," the execs said, per Business Insider. "We're not going to convert them. We're using them as a foil to target current Android users upgrading to a new phone and people entering the smartphone market for the first time."
Both the Galaxy S II and the iPhone 4S are available for $199 with a two-year contract.