Brand wars have become an important aspect of marketing and advertising. Mocking competitors in a way that attracts customers to pick brands out of options has become a trend.
In 2011, Samsung started a marketing tradition of trolling Apple by making fun of iPhones and their owners in various ads. It’s something Samsung has been continuing even today. They never miss a chance to take a dig at their competition especially if it's Apple. That includes a dedicated ad campaign such as the ingenious ads or casually mocking them on Twitter.
A few days ago Samsung even mocked the lack of a charger inside their latest iPhone 12 lineup saying their Galaxy phones do include a charger which is the basic necessity for a smartphone. And now Samsung has shifted its focus from mocking iPhone 12 for the lack of a charger to mocking Apple for the lack of involvement in the foldable smartphone segment. They have made this new ad near the Apple Store in the Netherlands, highlighting the innovative nature of the Galaxy Z Fold 2 saying don't just think different, think bigger.
If you don't know think different is an advertising slogan used by Apple from 1997 to 2002. There are multiple reasoning on the internet why Apple actually used this slogan, but in my opinion, Apple's 'Think Different' is more likely a provocative statement aimed at IBM's longstanding motto 'Think.'
Although IBM was no longer a direct competitor of Apple at the time of the campaign, when Steve Jobs was coming up, IBM represented the type of company and corporate culture he actively sought to rebel against. IBM represented a company of workers wearing the same suits and putting profits ahead of innovation.
This inspired the rebel in Steve Jobs to believe 'Think Different' was the perfect ideological counter-statement to IBM's think. But here Samsung is telling Apple that it's not merely enough to think different if there's nothing unique or innovative about your thoughts, but they need to think bigger as well indirectly taking a dig at Apple for their lack of innovation and involvement in the foldable smartphone category.
Apple has turned from a company that used to innovate things such as creating a new product category nobody knew they could live without under the leadership of Steve Jobs and turned itself into a company that basically waits for others to lay the groundwork and when there's practically no risk factor involved they come out with a product and say how they revolutionized that particular category.
Simply put, Apple is not innovative anymore across any category. They are failing to bring anything new to the table in smartphones, apps, smart devices, or even their retail stores.
They are also nowhere to be seen in the foldable smartphone segment which arguably is the future of smartphones and that's not okay for one of the two biggest smartphone names in the world which also happens to sit on a pile of two trillion-dollar market valuation. Which is a point that this newly spotted ad from Samsung likely wants to drive home. Stop Playing Small and Thinking Small! Go Big Instead!
Of course with that being said let me know what do you think about this, are we seeing the beginning of another international ad campaign against Apple like the ingenious one? Let me know what do you think down in the comments.
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