Samsung-1, Apple-0

Samsung -1, Apple -0

Coke and Pepsi, McDonald's and Burger King, Adidas and Nike, Samsung and Apple.

You’ve got to admit, we love an age-old brand feud.

And what we love even more is getting to watch their epic battles take place in front our very eyes.

The latest development in brand rivalry?

Samsung has responded to Apple's heavily criticised ‘Crush’ commercial.

You know, the one that featured a giant hydraulic press crushing a canvas of creative tools. The one that left a bad taste in our mouths and a resounding message that anything creatives do can be replaced with the likes of an iPad Pro.

This isn’t the first time Samsung has taken a cheeky jab at its competitor. But it’s not often that they completely one up them.

But this time, Samsung quickly took advantage of the opportunity.

Enter "Uncrushed."

That’s the name of Samsung’s new ad. 

Brilliant. 

I could only ever aspire to be this petty.

In this ad, we're transported back into what is meant to be the room from Apple's "Crush." Colourful paint stains the compressor, broken creative artefacts are sprawled around the room.

Then we see a woman walk through the destruction and pick up a (badly damaged) guitar. She begins to play, reading sheet music from a Samsung tablet.

“Creativity cannot be crushed,” the on-screen text reads.

And scene.

43 seconds. That’s all it takes to kneecap Apple. 

We know Apple intended ‘Crush’ to be a metaphor for the potential packed tightly inside their “thinnest product ever.” But their inability to read the room meant we saw a far more unsettling metaphor at play – Big Tech crushing human creativity.

Their (literal) destructive blunder put them in the spotlight. And Samsung decided to steal some of that light to position themselves as The Good Guys. Well played.

However, Samsung isn’t necessarily any more ethical than Apple.

The fact remains that these grand displays of brand rivalry are just corporate competitions to captivate audiences, and drive consumer engagement. 

And the strategy is simple.

• Take consumer's emotions (in this case, the creatives that are offended by Apple's new ad).

• Appeal to said emotions (show offended creatives, “we hear you”).

• Encourage them to pick a side (Samsung would NEVER do you like that).

• Inspire brand loyalty (existing Samsung users/ creatives get a little ping of satisfaction that they chose “the right side”).

• Finally, get everybody talking in the process.

Fearlessly addressing competition is a bold move for brands. After all, fortune never favoured the weak.

And it looks like Samsung's come out on top this time around.

-Sophie, Copywriter