Samsung reportedly behind mock protest flashmob at Apple Store

Posted:
in General Discussion edited January 2014
An Australian Apple Store was bombarded by a mob of people chanting "wake up" and holding signs emblazoned with the same slogan on Thursday, with one source claiming that the stunt was orchestrated by an ad agency working for Samsung.

The Sydney Apple Store saw a small mob of mock protestors spill out of a large black bus with the words "Wake Up." written in bold relief on its side in what was apparently an advertising stunt put together by an agency purportedly working for Samsung, according to blog Mumbrella.

Tongue, a local Australian ad company, is thought to be the instigator of the campaign which is centered around the upcoming release of Samsung's next-generation Galaxy S3 smartphone. An iPhone competitor, the S3 is said to sport a quad-core Exynos processor and was confirmed on Thursday as being ready for launch some time next week.

The information jibes with the website wake-up-australia.com.au, which displays the same "Wake Up." slogan with a countdown timer that is set to reach zero when the new handset is launched in that country. The domain name was registered to New Dialogue, which later rebranded itself as Sydney-based ad agency Tongue.

In addition to the staged protest, the campaign has written the words "Wake Up." on the bottom of the Bondi Ice Bergs pool as well as a number of billboards.

Documenting the incident on video was blogger Nate ?Blunty? Burr, who said he happened on the commotion by accident.




Video of flashmob as captured by blogger Nate Burr.


Apple is no stranger to protests, with the most recent case involving a Greenpeace demonstration at the company's European headquarters in Ireland over the coal-burning generators used to power iCloud's massive North Carolina datacenter.
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Comments

  • Reply 1 of 190
    kpluckkpluck Posts: 500member


    Samsung has become a really pathetic company.


     


    -kpluck

  • Reply 2 of 190
    solipsismxsolipsismx Posts: 19,566member
    So Samsung rents a bus, makes a bunch of signs, hires a bunch of day labourers, and then goes to advertise in front of an Apple Store... YET THE ONLY THING IN THE VIDEO WITH A TRADEMARK/LOGO SHOWING IS THE APPLE STORE? Brilliant¡

    'm starting to think Teckstud now works for Samsung marketing.
  • Reply 3 of 190
    tallest skiltallest skil Posts: 43,388member

    Quote:

    Originally Posted by kpluck View Post

    Samsung has become a reportedly pathetic company.


     


    Fixed. image


     


    Quote:

    Originally Posted by SolipsismX View Post

    So Samsung hires a bunch of day labourers, rents a bus, makes a bunch of signs, and then goes to advertise in front of an Apple Store... THE ONLY THING IN THE VIDEO WITH A TRADEMARK/LOGO SHOWING. Brilliant¡ I'm starting to think Teckstud now works for Samsung marketing.


     


    I realize I'm the one that brought this to our attention here, but yeah, that's fishy. This might not be Samsung.

  • Reply 4 of 190


    Wake up... What was the point of that? Really... I don't get it.

  • Reply 5 of 190
    loptimistloptimist Posts: 113member


     


    Quote:

    Originally Posted by archieny View Post


    Wake up... What was the point of that? Really... I don't get it.



     


    point was to make you feel confused and check on the internet and find out it is samsung and realize that gsiii is coming.

  • Reply 6 of 190


    No worries, the Apple polishers are not ready to wake from their distortion field slumber.  Though we do Apple no service with slavish and unquestioning praise of their superiority.  Competition is good, and Apple needs it.

  • Reply 7 of 190


     


    Quote:

    Originally Posted by archieny View Post


    Wake up... What was the point of that? Really... I don't get it.



     




    If you honestly don't get it, you need to get out more...

  • Reply 8 of 190


    I love the smell of desperation.


     


    How long before Apple gobbles up 90% of the profits in the smartphone space, anyhow?


     


    Samsung = the next Nokia.

  • Reply 9 of 190


    jealous much samsung?

  • Reply 10 of 190
    tallest skiltallest skil Posts: 43,388member

    Quote:

    Originally Posted by sunspot42 View Post


    Samsung = the next Nokia.



     


    I don't think that you can call someone 'the next X' until the X has actually gone kaput.


     


    Having said that, It'll be RIM first, then Nokia, then Samsung. Poor guys.

  • Reply 11 of 190
    doh123doh123 Posts: 323member


    the most epic fail of a protest (or mock protest) is when no one knows what the heck your even protesting... or what your actual message is.


     


    whoever they are... they failed... unless its some new "Wake Up" energy drink or something?

  • Reply 13 of 190
    originalgoriginalg Posts: 383member


    Stay classy Apple. I hope you never resort to this kind of stunt.

  • Reply 14 of 190
    pokepoke Posts: 506member


    So the idea is to get more customers by insulting them?

  • Reply 15 of 190
    tallest skiltallest skil Posts: 43,388member


     


    BOTH of his quotes work in this scenario!


     


    "I can run wild for six months … after that, I have no expectation of success."


     


    What happens in six months? Well, let's see… SIXTH IPHONE RELEASE.

  • Reply 16 of 190
    arlomediaarlomedia Posts: 271member


    Whoa ... the synchronized thrusting and shouting just reminded me of the proletariat in the 1984 ad. Exactly the opposite of the intended message.


     


    Anyway, it's so annoying to see ad agencies co-opting social phenomena. It's like, "Facebook is cool, how can we use that for marketing?" "Viral video is cool, how can we use that for marketing?" "Flash mobs are cool, how can we use that for marketing?" And then it's not cool when they do those things.

  • Reply 17 of 190
    SpamSandwichSpamSandwich Posts: 33,407member
    [quote name="SolipsismX" I'm starting to think Teckstud now works for Samsung marketing.[/quote]

    Ha! :D
  • Reply 18 of 190


    Wow. People still do flash mobs?

  • Reply 19 of 190


     


    Quote:

    Originally Posted by OriginalG View Post


    Stay classy Apple. I hope you never resort to this kind of stunt.



     


    Classy like like drawing other mobile vendors into the iPhone 4's antenna issues...yeah, real classy.

  • Reply 20 of 190
    tallest skiltallest skil Posts: 43,388member

    Quote:

    Originally Posted by fredaroony View Post

    Classy like like drawing other mobile vendors into the iPhone 4's antenna issues...yeah, real classy.


     


    Because there was no "issue" other than the ones inherent to all phones made by anyone. Don't start that crap again.

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