Advertising

New Samsung ad calls iPhone 6 Plus a Galaxy Note imitation

Cody Lee ∙ September 14, 2014

Samsung began airing a new TV spot this weekend for the Galaxy Note 4—its new flagship handset that begins shipping next month. Like most of the company's recent ads, this one goes after Apple, with a specific focus on its just-announced iPhone 6 Plus.

Titled "Then and Now," the commercial points out that while Apple prepares to begin selling its first handset with a display over 5 inches, Samsung has been doing it for years with its Galaxy Note line. It essentially calls the iPhone 6 Plus a Note imitation.

Samsung ads lampoon iPhone 6 screen, battery, multitasking, Apple Watch and more

Christian Zibreg ∙ September 11, 2014

Galaxy maker Samsung on Thursday published a series of advertisements on its YouTube channel. The commercials have been designed to ridicule Apple's latest announcements.

The six-installment series, which Samsung is running under the 'Note The Difference' tagline, targets pretty much everything, from Apple's botched live stream to the iPhone 6's screen size, multitasking and battery life to — funny you should ask — the star of the show: the Apple Watch.

I've included the videos for your viewing pleasure right after the break so watch them now and join us in comments.

Spotify promises 30 minutes of uninterrupted music if you sit through 13-30 second video ad breaks

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated October 13, 2018

Spotify, the popular music-streaming service with 40 million strong user base, on Monday announced a new way to stream music for free.

Leveraging its video ads for mobile and desktop that have been in limited testing since mid-June and are now rolling out, free Spotify streamers who opt-in to view short 15-30 second videos on their device will receive 30 minutes' worth of uninterrupted, ad-free music. Spotify, which hails from Sweden, opened its mobile service to non-paying users in December.

Fun Friday: IKEA spoofs iPad ads, Joy of Tech pokes fun of Apple’s product cycle

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated October 13, 2018

Ikea channels Jony Ive to promote its 2015 furniture catalog, Joy of Tech spoofs the seven phases every true Apple fan goes through in between product launches — dang, it must by a Friday!

To help you get prepared for the weekend, I've cherry-picked a pair of linkbait memes that've been making rounds this week. You should find the Ikea video amusing and the Joy of Tech comic hilarious as you head out for the weekend, your very last weekend before Apple's big reveal on Tuesday changes everything, all over again.

Microsoft shows off HTC One M8 features in new Cortana vs. Siri ad

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated January 27, 2016

Microsoft on Tuesday started airing a new Windows Phone commercial that takes another jab at Apple's Siri. The 30-second commercial titled 'Mirror, Mirror' has been posted on the official Windows Phone channel on YouTube this morning.

The video depicts Cortana, Microsoft's personal digital assistant for Windows Phone devices, performing a series of tasks that Siri on the iPhone, iPod touch and iPad can't do, starting with deeper integration with core Windows Phone apps like calendar and Maps.

One scene depicts Cortana tapping information stored in a user's calendar to provide accurate route and mapping information. Another scene highlights dual front-facing speakers on the HTC One M8, to which Siri responds that she has but a single speaker and that she's “sitting on it”.

Check out cheeky newspaper ad by British carrier O2 that hints at iPhone 6

Christian Zibreg ∙ September 1, 2014

Cat humor is making the jump from the Internet to print in a cheeky new newspaper advertisement by Telefónica-owned British carrier O2. The ad amusingly teases the next iPhone, which will be announced next Tuesday.

A quick photo of the advertisement has been shared on Twitter Monday morning by Tom Warren, Senior Reporter for the technology website The Verge.

“Our O2 Gurus can help you master your smart devices,” reads the ad's copy. “Unless it's the new ... as it's not out until ... / .... / ...”.

Jump past the fold for the full scan of the advertisement.

New Samsung ad positions Galaxy Tab S as thinner, lighter and brighter than iPad Air

Christian Zibreg ∙ August 29, 2014

Samsung on Friday posted a new anti-iPad commercial on its YouTube channel. First spotted by iGeneration, the ad at first blush appears to have borrowed a few cues from the South Korean firm's original anti-iPhone ad which lampooned people who'd wait in the line for a new iPhone.

Specifically, the commercial asks supposedly random hipsters on the streets of New York City to take the Galaxy Tab S for a test drive and compare it to the iPad Air.

As you could imagine, the video emphasizes the Samsung tablet's thinness and lightness while praising its bright Super AMOLED display versus the iPad Air's LCD screen.

New ad formats coming to iAd: pre-roll video and full-screen interstitials

Cody Lee ∙ August 26, 2014

Apple announced to iOS developers today that it has enabled new ad formats that could help them generate more revenue. Developers can now add pre-roll video and full-screen advertisements to their apps, via iAd.

The news makes good on a report from back in March, which said the ads would be capable of interrupting a user in-app. It's more likely, however, that the ads will play at moments of transition, such as at the end of a level.

iPhone 5s holiday ad, ‘Misunderstood,’ wins Emmy Award for 2014’s Outstanding Commercial

Christian Zibreg ∙ August 17, 2014

Apple's marketing boss Phil Schiller is going to have a field day over this.

After a mishmash of some memorable and mostly forgettable advertisements that ensued following Steve Jobs's October 2011 passing, Apple - not Samsung - has now won the coveted title of this year's most Outstanding Commercial for the iPhone 5s ad dubbed 'Misunderstood', which was airing on television during the 2013 holiday season.

The award is granted by the Primetime Creative Arts Emmy Awards just a week before the live Primetime Emmys telecast...

Samsung takes ‘Wall Huggers’ campaign to airports

Christian Zibreg ∙ August 14, 2014

Samsung's much-talked-about anti-iPhone campaign dubbed 'Wall Huggers' is expanding to select airports, which are among the most trafficked public spots and traditionally the domain of iPhone and MacBook-toting users.

After poking fun of the iPhone's appalling battery performance with its controversial 30-second television spot, the South Korean conglomerate is now displaying Galaxy S5 ads at power outlets throughout major airports.

The posters advertises the Galaxy S5's Ultra Power Saving mode and features a tagline saying "So you have the power to be anywhere but here" in a not-so-subtle dig at Apple's iPhone 5s campaign which revolves around the tagline "You're more powerful than you think"...

Apple debuts two new stories for its ‘Your Verse’ iPad campaign

Cody Lee ∙ Updated April 18, 2018

Apple has posted two new stories to its ongoing ‘Your Verse’ iPad campaign this weekend: one featuring electropop group Yaoband, and one with Jason Hall, the founder of the Slow Roll biking program in Detroit.

Like previous Your Verse spots, the stories answer the question posed in Apple’s ‘What Will Your Verse Be' advert. The running theme is that the iPad can be used for much more than gaming and consuming media...

Microsoft targets MacBook Air with three new Surface ads

Christian Zibreg ∙ August 11, 2014

Software giant Microsoft has begun airing three television commercials for its Surface Pro 3 tablet series. And rather than ridicule Apple's iPad, the 30-second spots take aim at the ultra-thin MacBook Air.

Microsoft from the onset positioned Surface Pro 3, which features a keyboard cover and Windows/Office software, as a replacement for both tablets and notebooks and these new ads drive the point home.

Check them out after the break and meet us in comments...