Samsung and Apple have been throwing jabs at each other for years.
The two smartphone companies have gone head-to-head on everything from cameras to screens to operating systems to device design, and the battle has spilled well beyond the technical lab into the world of advertising.
Samsung, in particular, has made a habit of making Apple part of its marketing plan.
The South Korean electronics giant can’t seem to stop making fun of Apple, The Times of India noted. Samsung has criticized customers lining up to buy new iPhones, ridiculed Apple’s contentious iPhone notch, and even produced an advertisement campaign poking fun at Apple’s Genius Bar.
The two smartphone giants have fought over cameras, displays, operating systems, and device design, but also advertising.
Samsung is now returning to that playbook as it pushes the Galaxy Z Fold 8. And it’s found an unusual person to help make the pitch this time. His name is Tim Cook (!) — but not the one you’re thinking, PCMag reported.
Samsung finds another Tim Cook to promote Galaxy Z Fold 8
Samsung’s latest advertisement features “Tim Cook from Palmerston North,” a New Zealander who shares a name and a noticeable resemblance to former Apple CEO Tim Cook.
That became the main theme of Samsung’s new push to market the Galaxy Z Fold 8.
Samsung shot the advertising in a cinematic manner similar to that of Apple’s product introductions, showing Samsung’s Cook saying, “The future is here.”
The timing makes the joke even funnier.
The report states that Samsung launched the campaign as Apple announced its iPhone Duo, allowing it to capitalize on the attention surrounding its longtime rival while promoting its foldable device.
The commercial even references the former Apple CEO’s refreshed profile photo.
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It’s the type of marketing approach Samsung has used before.
More than 10 years ago, Samsung produced a commercial ridiculing Apple buyers who lined up for hours to get the latest iPhone.
Another effort showed an Apple lover with a haircut that mimicked the notch on the top of certain iPhone screens.
Samsung then attacked another area of Apple’s brand with its “Ingenius” advertising campaign. The advertisements spoofed Apple’s Genius Bar, with people asking an Apple Store staff member whether the iPhones had features found on Samsung phones.
For Samsung, it’s a way to let Apple handle some of the marketing. The competition is widely known among consumers, so there’s not much Samsung has to set up before landing the punchline.
Samsung has repeatedly turned its Apple rivalry into advertising
Samsung’s marketing targeted against Apple hasn’t always been all for laughs.
Apple’s “Crush” campaign for the iPad showed musical instruments, painting tools, and other creative products being crushed by a hydraulic press before unveiling an iPad.
Some artists and designers slammed the visuals, according to Variety, arguing the commercial delivered the incorrect message about how technology relates to human creativity.
Samsung has replied with its own ad, depicting a woman playing a broken guitar in a style that mimics Apple’s commercial and closes with the statement, “Creativity cannot be crushed,” PCMag noted.
That promotion illustrated how Samsung can swiftly transform any Apple scandal into an opportunity to strengthen its brand.
The competition has become so well-known that other tech businesses have even exploited it as advertising copy. Microsoft previously created a commercial, referenced by CIO, that depicted fans of Samsung and Apple battling with each other, implying the two groups “kind of like fighting.”
Samsung’s current commercial is well in that tradition, but foldable devices add another level to the joke.
Samsung isn’t just making fun of Apple for the sake of poking fun at Apple. It’s highlighting a product segment where the two firms have chosen divergent paths.
Galaxy Z Fold 8 gives Samsung another way to challenge Apple
Samsung’s foldable smartphones have offered the business one of the most apparent ways to differentiate its smartphone portfolio.
The Galaxy Z Fold range has a folding design rather than the typical slab-style smartphone form factor, which provides Samsung with a clear visual hook for its marketing.
Now the Galaxy Z Fold 8 is at the heart of that plan.
Samsung can make a simple case without spelling it out clearly, by placing a Tim Cook doppelganger in an ad for the device: Samsung thinks its foldable is where smartphones are headed next.
The phrase “the future is here” makes this clear.
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The ad also indicates that Apple’s brand is still quite important, even to its rivals.
Viewers don’t need Apple to appear directly in the advertising to convey the connection. The context is the name Tim Cook, the presentation style, and the timing of Apple’s announcement.
The acknowledgment gives Samsung a chance to engage itself in a discussion that’s already swirling around Apple. It’s a method firms have employed since advertising began: Put your product against the market leader and let customers do the comparing.
But Samsung’s version adds a humorous touch. It doesn’t provide specs or dryly compare competing gadgets; instead, it makes the battle itself entertaining.
That might help Samsung attract attention for a sector that still needs people to reconsider what a smartphone should be.
Samsung’s Tim Cook joke revisits a classic Apple tactic
Samsung and Apple don’t need much help in getting noticed.
Both smartphone makers are now regulars in the global consumer technology industry, and their product debuts often stir conversation among consumers, technology enthusiasts, and investors. This makes their rivalry very helpful for marketing.
Samsung’s latest advertisement plays on that familiarity, continuing a marketing trend it spent years cultivating by attacking iPhone waits, Apple’s notch, Genius Bar personnel, and one of Apple’s most contentious ads.
Now it’s discovered it’s probably the most literal Tim Cook joke ever. Whether such comedy will be enough to persuade an iPhone user to switch phones remains to be seen.
But the objective of the ad isn’t only to get customers to purchase a Galaxy Z Fold 8 today. Advertising must also attract attention and make people remember the advertised products.
At least Samsung has nailed the first step by taking one of the most known brands connected with Apple.
And in the yearslong Samsung-Apple spat, even a name can potentially be turned into marketing ammo.
Related: Samsung is shutting down two apps it once bragged about
