Samsung ad gets applause for copying Apple?s iPhone spot from 2007

Posted:
in iPhone edited January 2014
Critics have broadly panned Samsung?s initial efforts to deliver a Galaxy Gear "smart watch,? but there's accolades for the product's commercial, which is closely patterned after an ad Apple commissioned at the introduction of the original iPhone in 2007.

Galaxy Gear on parade


In one example, Brad Reed of BGR wrote today that "Samsung?s Galaxy Gear ad is cooler than the actual watch," noting that "critics may have savaged Samsung?s first Galaxy Gear smartwatch but that hasn?t stopped the company?s crack marketing team from churning out a terrific ad that?s much cleverer than the device itself."

Yesterday, Devindra Hardawar of Venture Beat similarly observed "Galaxy Gear commercials are brilliant ads for a terrible product," while Steve Kovach mused in his Business Insider blog that "the Galaxy Gear, may be getting poor reviews, but the commercials for the gadget are pretty sweet."

Samsung's Gear isn't really a futuristic wrist-phone like the images from TV shows and movies depicted in its ad. Instead, it is essentially a $300 Bluetooth headset strapped to the wrist and outfitted with a camera and display. The device requires a user to also carry a Note 3 phablet for it to work at all.

Further, Samsung's "terrific ad" is actually a copy of the "Hello" spot Apple debuted at the 2007 Oscars (below) introducing the first iPhone, as noted by Obama Pacman.

Obama Pacman ad comparison
Source: Obama Pacman




This year, Apple's "Greetings" ad (below) for the iPhone 5c presents a similar montage of global characters answering the phone, but the people in it are not depicted as cartoons or celebrities.




Obama Pacman also presented previous examples of Samsung looking to Apple for marketing "inspiration," such as in creating virtually identical ads for its own versions of the iPhone 4S and iPad 2 in 2011.
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Comments

  • Reply 1 of 100
    Quote:

    Originally Posted by AppleInsider View Post



    Critics have broadly panned Samsung


    5 Word Article. WTF!

  • Reply 2 of 100
    wardcwardc Posts: 150member

    I see a HUGE lawsuit coming. The kind that will put Sumscum out of business ONCE and FOR ALL. They are really going down the wrong path with this one. This is infringement.

  • Reply 3 of 100
    andysolandysol Posts: 2,506member

    Great article.  A must read!

  • Reply 4 of 100
    jkichlinejkichline Posts: 1,369member
    Five words, but they are at least true.
  • Reply 5 of 100
    jungmarkjungmark Posts: 6,926member
    So that's why I enjoyed the ad. It reminded me of something great. Unfortunately the product reveal ruined it. Can Sammy not copy Apple in anything? Fix your screw heads!
  • Reply 6 of 100
    I was never a good English student but I did not think "cleverer" was a word as used by Brad Reed.
  • Reply 7 of 100
    5 words, yet not one bit of punctuation.
  • Reply 8 of 100

    Samsung copies <insert words here> from Apple.  Is this news anymore?

  • Reply 9 of 100
    Nice of Samsung to package up all the prior art for this. Hope they don't try and patent anything.
  • Reply 10 of 100
    akqiesakqies Posts: 768member
    wardc wrote: »
    I see a HUGE lawsuit coming. The kind that will put Sumscum out of business ONCE and FOR ALL. They are really going down the wrong path with this one. This is infringement.

    Absolutely not! This is one area where Samsung can take from Apple without actually stealing any IP. Furthermore, it's the one area that Apple's competitors oddly don't take from Apple when they should. This ad isn't nearly as good as Apple's original iPhone ad but it's pretty damn good for Samsung.

    PS: I thought Samsung wasn' going to push this watch. I thought it was just a shipping proof-of-concept for the few idiots that would buy it. This ad says otherwise.
  • Reply 11 of 100
    It is becoming all too apparent that on an evolutionary scale, Samsung is nothing but a leech.

    What does this say about it's followers, I am not certain.
  • Reply 12 of 100
    andysolandysol Posts: 2,506member
    "I'm on my way... to the gym to bulk up so I can lift that watch."
  • Reply 13 of 100
    Quote:

    Originally Posted by Ursadorable View Post

     

    Samsung copies <insert words here> from Apple.  Is this news anymore?


     

    i know.  the real news would be if Samesung did not copy Apple.  I will _never_ buy a product with a Samesung logo on it and i will continue to encourage everyone i know to do the same. Friends don't let friends Samesung!

  • Reply 14 of 100
    512ke512ke Posts: 782member

    I give points to Samsung for coming up with both a watch and an ad.

     

    Would I buy it?  No.  Do I know anyone who says they want to buy it?  No.

     

    "Hello" was about connecting with other people but in a new way.

     

    I'm not sure what the Sammy watch is about.  It feels like the watch exists to tell my Sammy phone what to do.

     

    What new thing can I do with the watch?  What does it let me do?

     

    Does it look cool?  If so, show me.

     

    That's what the commercial should have demonstrated.  Lol why didn't Samsung contact me for ideas!?  Yeah yeah, because I don't know what I'm talking about.  *Agree*

  • Reply 15 of 100
    wardcwardc Posts: 150member

    I think Samsung both wants to gain a huge chunk of the smart watch marketshare as well as take away from the massive WOW factor when Apple finally releases their product, which may not come out for another year.

  • Reply 16 of 100
    Apple's original iPhone commercial was very clear, it's a phone. Samsung's is confusing, I still don't understand what the device does, apart from time and weather, the clips they showed could never be performed by the device they sell.

    That's what you get from a completely uninspired company, it's just not the same as the original. Besides, I still can't see watches being anything more than fashion statements, Rolex, Swatch, etc. I don't see myself buying a Samsung or an Apple watch, unless one makes a large enough variety like Swatch. But then again, not everyone like Swatch, business people may prefer something more traditional or conservative.
  • Reply 17 of 100
    irnchrizirnchriz Posts: 1,616member
    Samsung: An electronics company with neither morals, humility or a sense of fair play. They built their company on the endeavours of others and to the detriment of all, basically a parasite.
  • Reply 18 of 100
    I think Samesung wants to pretend apple is following them more so than actually selling watches with this commercial.

    Although, I don't think apple would ever tie one of their products to power rangers, David hassellhoff, or even Star Trek. Also, when apple releases their version, it will look much better than this and do more things, and they'll have to copy much of that. Making changes to a highly marketed item will essentially broadcast their change of direction. I don't see samsung escaping their current trajectory at this point.
  • Reply 19 of 100
    Quote:

    Originally Posted by 1brayden View Post



    It is becoming all too apparent that on an evolutionary scale, Samsung is nothing but a leech.



    What does this say about it's followers, I am not certain.

     

    Whenever news like this comes out, I always wander over to cnet or theverge and read fandroid comments there for sheer fun -- it never disappoints!

     

    There is no cognitive dissonance in their world.

  • Reply 20 of 100
    Apart from the timing in Samsung's ad being completely off comparatively, the ad also differe in one substantial way: whilst the iPhone ad showed something fresh and new and better in many ways than the old thing everyone has used before, the Samsung ad shows something that is an old idea, executed less well (than it is depicted fictionally) that noone has ever used before.

    Without any evidence that anyone will ever want to talk to their wrist other than to give the impression they are a somewhat-aged spy type, this is clearly a flop. The device is too.
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