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Apple cult mocked by Samsung in Galaxy S II ad

In a new ad for its large-screen phone, Samsung decides to deride the cult of Apple, in which fanboys stand in line for days on end in order to buy phones that really aren't that good, in order to preserve their image.

Chris Matyszczyk
2 min read

"I could never get a Samsung," says a self-consciously cool-looking, whiny dude, seated on the sidewalk. "I'm creative."

"You're a barista," says the man standing next to him in line.

This is perhaps the most touching line in what is a very creditable attempt at mocking the Church of Science-ology that is Apple.

The mockery is part of a new ad for the Samsung Galaxy S II, which is a phone of which many might not have heard.

The people standing in line in various cities--outside places that look remarkably like Apple stores--are Apple's dedicated followers. Aka lemmings, conformists, emotional dependents and cult members.

This is, thankfully, not similar to the desperate, painful Super Bowl ad created by Motorola for its highly successful Xoom tablet.

In that ad, Motorola's ad agency decided to portray Apple as Big Brother--and the Xoom as the second coming of Flower Power. As if Flower Power needed a second coming.

Here, there is a semblance of humor, ergo truth. Who could not titter at one guy in Seattle who says: "Uh-oh. The blogs are saying the battery looks sketchy"?

Sadly, though, the good is tempered a little with the tagline "The Next Big Thing Is Here."

I hadn't been aware that the Galaxy S II (great name, that) was the next big thing, nor that it was actually here. I assume that it's the next big thing, at least in part, because it has a bigger screen.

But if only they hadn't been so boastful at the end, they might have secured a little more love, as well as intrigue.

Some diehard fanchildren might be tempted to observe that Samsung has managed to make an ad that admits the iPhone is hugely popular.

Still, there will surely be one or two of them who might see themselves in this ad and discuss it with their shrinks at their next bi-weekly meeting. Which will, no doubt, happen via Face Time.