By his own admission, Israel Dagg had a tough season on the field, but he’s been in top form when it comes to endorsing Samsung products. And, following on from the S5 Days clip that was released a few months back, he hit the streets of Chicago during the All Blacks’ recent visit to put the Gear S smartwatch through its paces.
After Apple announced the launch of the iPhone 6 and 6 Plus, Samsung came out firing (once again) with a comparative print ad that pointed out the next best thing was already here in the form of the Note 4. And its approach to promoting the Galaxy Tab S is similarly comparative.
With the trials and tribulations of Quickflix and Ezyflix, the arrival of Premier League Pass and Lightbox, the impending arrival of Sky’s Neon and murmurings that Netflix will launch in Australia next year, there’s plenty of action in the subscription video on-demand market at the moment. And that’s good news for content consumers. But one of the major impediments to uptake is the hassle—or perception of hassle—in getting that content on the main TV. So, following in the footsteps of Quickflix and the free-to-air broadcasters, Lightbox has launched an app that offers its service through Samsung Smart TVs.
It’s nigh-on impossible to drive through the small North Island town of Bulls and not pull out a few cringeworthy puns. And science shows that the more you do it, the funnier it becomes, especially if you’re a dad. The town has fully embraced the bovine-based verbal gymnastics, and here’s a selection of brands that have done the same.
While the press and pretty much anyone with a Twitter account seemed to jump on the iPhone 6 and 6 Plus launch like it was going out of fashion (it’s not), Samsung launched the Galaxy Note 4 this week with a notable lack of column inches in the press.
Samsung has been giving Apple uppercuts for a few years now with its The Next Best Thing is Already here campaign, and it has taken the attacks up a notch after the launch of the iPhone 6 and 6 Plus with a series of ads calling bollocks on the ‘innovation’ of its main mobile competitor (it doesn’t seem to have made too much difference, as Apple’s sales were still off the charts, although glitches with the operating system and bendy phones may have hindered that). And now the local arm of the Korean electronics behemoth is getting in on the act, running a print ad in some of the weekend papers showing a list of features from the soon-to-be-released Galaxy Note 4 that Apple should be taking note of for its next release.
The growing prevalence of the online channel has made it more common for the regional arms of major organisations to make locally produced content. And this trend has now seen Samsung release a new YouTube clip that features rugby star Israel Dagg showing off the full utility range of the GS5. But placing your brand’s message in the hands of a sports star comes with its risks.
Despite Steve Jobs’ antipathy towards big screens, Apple launched the 14cm iPhone 6 Plus (and a couple of other things) last week. And Samsung, no stranger to taking swipes at its main mobile competitor, responded with a series of ads showing some disappointed Apple staff. Now it’s followed those up with another feisty spot that talks about the initial negative response to its big, “more productive, more innovative, more fun” Galaxy Note and the ensuing scramble from other manufacturers to follow suit.
The next big battleground for the major tech players seems to be the home. Google has its eyes on that prize with the purchase of Nest, companies like GE and Cisco are betting big on the internet of things and, closer to home, Spark’s Digilife offer is gunning for the early adopters. And Samsung is also hoping to capitalise on this evolution, with a clever experiential activation called Home Smart Home set to launch in Auckland soon that aims to show how some of its products can fit into the homes of the future—and help make life easier.
Samsung has successfully take the fight directly to Apple—and the fans willing to line up for their new toys—with The Next Big Thing is Already Here campaign. And after Apple launched the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus, as well as the Apple Watch this week, it’s continued the ribbing with a series of ads that show a couple of ‘geniuses’ discussing the new ‘innovations’.
Some brands might find it morally wrong to piggy back on a charity campaign but this doesn’t seem to have been an issue for Samsung in the UK.
It’s tough for brands and agencies to compete with the plethora of amazing GoPro surfing footage, but Samsung and 72 and Sunny Amsterdam have done a bloody good job with this two-minute film to promote its partnership with The Association of Surfing Professionals World Tour.
Every brand and his dog seems to have been trying to get in on the selfie craze recently, and, as yourselfieideaisnotoriginal.tumblr.com shows, it often smacks of desperation. But if you’re going to get punters to take a photo of themselves, at least make it challenging. Samsung, one of the few brands to have had success when it comes to selfie-related campaigns, is doing just that, with what could be seen as a tech-related version of the ice challenge.
Samsung loves poking fun at Apple and their fans. It has been a big focus in their ad campaigns over the last couple of years and they’ve just done it again with their latest spot, titled “Wall Huggers”.
The All Blacks generally get a few views when they’re wheeled out by the sponsors. But it’s small fry compared to football stars. And Samsung’s got a galaxy of them for its latest campaign.
A gold star for Vodafone, Rebel Sport, McDonald’s, Rinnai and Samsung this week.
Our weekly wrap of good things, strange things, funny things and other things from inside the intertubes.
Outdoor media owners often claim that one of the main strengths of their medium is that ads are not sandwiched between content and can’t easily be ignored. That’s undoubtedly a positive thing if it’s a good ad, but what if they’re not?
Samsung’s latest TVC for the Galaxy Pro tablet range has no qualms making digs at the opposition’s expense. The Microsoft Surface and Kindle aren’t spared and neither is the iPad, which apparently doesn’t cut it in terms of features despite its “retina thingy”.
Coliseum Sports Media has branched out after securing the English Premier League broadcast rights last year, with a partnership targeted at users of Samsung Smart TVs and mobile devices. It’s also worked with Samsung on an app to deliver game and highlights content.
Increasingly the things we need to see are seen on screens of all sizes. Samsung has recognised this with a TVC that manages to cram in a huge array of tech, including the recently released Galaxy S5 and its ultra-thin screen TV.
Last night’s 26th edition of the annual NZ Direct Marketing Awards at Auckland’s Langham Hotel was a lavish affair, which was hosted by comedian Ben Hurley and the Marketing Association’s chief executive Sue McCarty, who recently resigned from her position. In total 41 different awards were handed out over the course of the event, and by the end of the night the attendees from Colenso BBDO/Proximity and iSite Media must’ve had tired legs due to the number of times they were called to the stage.
Samsung Singapore has released a new app that stops phones from receiving phone calls, text messages or social media notifications when people are travelling at faster than 20 kilometres per hour. PLUS: check out the Yellow Jacket (stun gun) iPhone case.
2013 was an eventful year for Pead PR, with a feisty Twitter war over My Food Bag, some quality sharkvertising for Xbox One and its relationship with Samsung coming to an end. Pead PR’s managing director Deborah Pead and her team look back—and forward.
It’s been a stonker of a year for Colenso BBDO, with eight out of nine pitch wins, a record year in terms of revenue and a number of big award wins. Nick Garrett and Nick Worthington share their thoughts.
It seems the days of the sedate product launch, held seated over a light lunch, are over as tech companies get ever more daring with their stunts. Plus: Samsung and Pead part company.
We’re big fans of doppelgangers here at StopPress. And while there’s been a lot of talk about Lorde’s Royals featuring in Samsung’s new ad, ‘The Developer’, no-one’s mentioned the important fact that Lionel Messi is a dead (but beardless) ringer for Y&R NZ’s managing director James Hurman.
Samsung has given Lorde’s hit Royals its ad debut in a new TVC for the recently-released Note 3 and Galaxy Gear smartwatch. It’s hard to tell how they’ve interpreted the song, but it seems homeless children have been freed to “live that fantasy” or get the “different kind of buzz” they crave thanks to the company’s tech.
Colenso BBDO has formalised its relationship with Samsung and will be the agency of record for all its various divisions, making it one of the few markets in the world where the Korean behemoth isn’t aligned with a Leo Burnett agency. But it means the agency has had to say goodbye to a long-time client, Haier-owned Fisher & Paykel.
Samsung’s Smartwatch is among a raft of new timepiece tech to hit the market of late, but it’s not the only clever watch to be celebrated in popular culture. Samsung is celebrating its place in history with a new video, A Long Time Coming.