Samsung’s new Note 9 adverts take aim at iPhone and Apple Pencil
Technically, as of Q2 this year, Huawei is Samsung’s main rival in the smartphone space. Somehow the memo doesn’t seem to have reached the company’s marketing department though, and Samsung is still using its YouTube channel to take potshots at Apple.
Two new adverts have appeared in Samsung’s ‘Ingenious’ series of web ads, which take place in a mocked-up Apple Store where customers ask innocuous questions about the iPhone before adding suspiciously well-informed follow-ups about rival Samsung products.
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While the previous seven (yes, seven) ads were focused on the Samsung Galaxy S9, the new 30-second commercials have customers parroting back Samsung Galaxy Note 9 propaganda to bumbling staff.
The first is about the device’s power. Rather than pointing out that the iPhone X actually outperforms the Note 9 on certain benchmarks, the salesman unaccountably bangs on about Face Unlock before the customer points out that the Note 9 has this pretty uninspiring feature too.
A better question would be why the iPhone X no longer supports fingerprints, but there we are.
Once this has been revealed, the salesman adds that the iPhone lets you FaceTime with 32 people at once. “Why would I ever want to do that though?” the customer pretty reasonably responds before, presumably, wandering off to Burger King to tell the staff how great Big Macs are.
The next ad is, if anything, even more bizarre. Another customer asks what the Apple Pencil is, despite apparently being familiar with the Note’s S-Pen. “So what’s the difference between that and the one that comes with the Galaxy Note 9?” she innocently inquires.
“The Apple Pencil only works on the iPad,” the salesman replies, neglecting to mention any actual selling points.
The problem is that this isn’t really a clear dividing line between Samsung and Apple. You can’t, after all, use the S-Pen that comes with the Note 9 or Samsung Galaxy Tab S4 with a Galaxy S9. Or Samsung’s laptops. Or its fridges.
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They’re pretty weak adverts overall. Samsung’s flagship smartphones have in recent years been brilliant enough products to stand on their own, without needing the defensive gripes at Apple.
There’s no reason to believe the Note 9 won’t continue this fine run of form, so couldn’t the company make more of a positive case in its YouTube presence?
What do you make of Samsung’s new adverts? Let us know on Twitter @TrustedReviews.
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Editorial independence
Editorial independence means being able to give an unbiased verdict about a product or company, with the avoidance of conflicts of interest. To ensure this is possible, every member of the editorial staff follows a clear code of conduct.
Professional conduct
We also expect our journalists to follow clear ethical standards in their work. Our staff members must strive for honesty and accuracy in everything they do. We follow the IPSO Editors’ code of practice to underpin these standards.
