File this one under the WTF category. Not content with referring to Apple’s (and potentially its own) customers as the iSheep, South Korea-based Samsung has apparently staged a ‘spontaneous’ flash mob-style protest at an Apple store.
I ain’t kidding. The video, included right below, depicts a crowd of people conveniently clad in black, wielding douchebag ‘Wake Up’ signs outside Apple’s retail outlet in Sydney, Australia…
Australian marketing blog Mumbrella believes the stunt was conceived by Tongue, a local creative shop, in order to raise awareness ahead of an upcoming Galaxy S III launch, Samsung’s latest and greatest would-be iPhone killer.
A black bus branded ‘Wake up.’ saw people chant the slogan and wave placards outside the store, which was recorded by video blogger Nate “Blunty” Burr who claimed to have been at the venue by coincidence. The ‘Wake up.’ campaign has also seen the words written on the bottom of Bondi Ice Bergs pool, as well as on a series of billboards placed around town. There was also a site takeover on news.com.au over the Anzac day holiday.
I thought Samsung couldn’t go lower than the iSheep thing.
Obviously, I was wrong.
Check out the video, courtesy of an Australian blogger who happened to be shopping inside the store when the ‘protest’ broke out.
[tube]Ldq2tNLRDwA[/tube]
So, tell me again: this supposedly spontaneously gathered group of people is protesting what exactly? Customers shopping for Apple products inside a company-owned retail store?
Is this insulting marketing even legal?
In case you were wondering, the Galaxy S III launches at the company’s Mobile Unpacked event in London on May 3. It will feature a newly-announced 1.4GHz quad-core processor, unimaginatively dubbed the Exynos 4 Quad.
According to Reuters, the Samsung-made chip will pack in four Cortex-A9 cores from fabless UK-based semiconductor maker ARM Holdings versus the two Cortex-A9 cores found inside the Apple-designed A5 and A5X processors that power the iPad 2/iPhone 4S and the new iPad, respectively.
The chip can also shut down individual cores, depending on the workload.
Electronista quotes Samsung as saying the Exynos 4 Quad is “roughly twice as powerful while using 20 percent less power”. Fabbed on a smaller 32-nanometer process, it also occupies the same space as the existing dual-core chips it replaces.
Now, back to this sad marketing stunt…
It’s pure stupidity and I’ve definitely had enough of it already.
Spoofing Apple in television commercials is one thing, even if it treads a fine line between bad taste and great advertising.
But staging stunts outside an Apple retail outlet in order to ridicule the customers inside just to get some free press is nothing if not bad advertising, no matter how you look at it.
Nice move, Samsung! Your marketing tactics will definitely spring to mind the next time I’m in the market for a big screen telly or a refrigerator.
I know this doesn’t even warrant a commentary, but I’d love to hear your opinion down in the comments.