Samsung takes a jab at Apple with ad that mocks iPhone's design and highlights its ‘Think Different’ campaign

Illustration of Samsung ads mocking Apple (photo: dock. samsung)

Samsung is back in the spotlight after releasing a new ad that openly mocks Apple over the lack of design changes to the iPhone 16. In the ad, Samsung used elements very similar to Apple's iconic campaign, "Think Different," which was once popular in the late 1990s until the early 2000s.

Samsung ads display a parade of identical white phones moving as above the conveyor belt. In the middle of the boring phone's appearance, the bright Galaxy Z Flip6 appears and displays an animated opening and folding that catches the eye. After the animation is finished, the word "different." appears on the screen, in a small letter and ends with a dot.

The use of the word "different." this clearly reminds of Apple's legendary "Think Different" advertising campaign. In addition, the font used in the ad is also very similar to Apple Garamond, the font Apple uses in the campaign from 1997 to 2002.

This ad insinuates that Apple is not considered to have made many design changes to the newly released iPhone 16 lineup, compared to the previous iPhone 15. Although many agree that the iPhone 16 design has not changed significantly, Samsung chose to mock Apple by comparing the Galaxy Z Flip6 which has a unique fold design, a feature that Samsung first released in 2019.

The "Think Different" campaign itself is one of the most famous advertising campaigns in Apple's history, launched in the return of Steve Jobs to the company. This campaign is very influential in building Apple's image as a company focused on design and technology innovation, especially at the launch of products such as iMac and iBook at that time. Design is considered an important key for Apple to distinguish itself from competitors and achieve success.

However, in this latest ad, Samsung is trying to lift the spirit of the campaign back to show that they are leaders in smartphone designs, while Apple is considered stagnant.

Repeated Retails From Samsung

This isn't the first time Samsung has mocked Apple through its ads. Previously, Samsung had also mocked Apple when the company removed jack headphones from the iPhone, although then Samsung also followed in Apple's footsteps by doing the same with its phones. In this ad, Samsung appears to be back in a similar pattern: mocking, then following.

This ad features Samsung as a company that has been designing folding phones since 2019, while Apple is considered slow in adopting new design innovations. Even so, for many observers, this move looks more like Samsung's obsession with Apple, as if Samsung could not stop comparing itself to its former arch-competitor.

With this ad, Samsung seems to be trying to attract the attention of users who want new design innovations in smartphone devices. However, by reviving Apple's iconic campaign, Samsung seems more focused on the past than it really brings fresh innovations. Even so, for Samsung fans, this ad still gives its own pride in innovative designs like the Galaxy Z Flip6 that Apple doesn't have.

On the other hand, Apple itself continues to focus on the principle of functional design, which is more concerned with its use and performance, rather than just visual changes for aesthetic reasons alone.