Hard sell is the name of the game for winners
I think it's great idea when a company can say that their particular product is the preference of hundreds of athletes because consumers like that sort of thing when they are fans of an athlete. I'm rather sure it would sell a lot more of the product. Although maybe most of you are too young to remember, but back in the 60s, it's like when those Wheaties cereal boxes from General Mills had winning athletes on the front and it was called the Breakfast of Champions. When I was very much younger, I actually thought those athletes feasted on Wheaties cereal every morning and that's how they got their power. It's very possible those athletes never ate that cereal at all.
However, that's what using the power of marketing is all about. Any company that doesn't use those types of marketing methods are really leaving money on the table. I think it's another reason why Apple is perceived so poorly as a company to investors. They just don't seem to use traditional methods to get themselves put out there in front of the crowd. I'm not saying they need to do it but it certainly shouldn't hurt anything to try. Giving away a few thousand devices is a drop in the bucket to a company of Samsung's wealth. It's a given they should endorse a product to that degree. I suppose every company has their own way of doing things and there's no method that's set in stone.