X

Samsung cops a feel in Galaxy S III 'for humans' ad

The first advertisement for the flagship Android phone easily gets to second base.

Eric Mack Contributing Editor
Eric Mack has been a CNET contributor since 2011. Eric and his family live 100% energy and water independent on his off-grid compound in the New Mexico desert. Eric uses his passion for writing about energy, renewables, science and climate to bring educational content to life on topics around the solar panel and deregulated energy industries. Eric helps consumers by demystifying solar, battery, renewable energy, energy choice concepts, and also reviews solar installers. Previously, Eric covered space, science, climate change and all things futuristic. His encrypted email for tips is ericcmack@protonmail.com.
Expertise Solar, solar storage, space, science, climate change, deregulated energy, DIY solar panels, DIY off-grid life projects. CNET's "Living off the Grid" series. https://www.cnet.com/feature/home/energy-and-utilities/living-off-the-grid/ Credentials
  • Finalist for the Nesta Tipping Point prize and a degree in broadcast journalism from the University of Missouri-Columbia.
See full bio
Eric Mack
If you think this hand has a solid grasp on the Galaxy S III, wait till you see what else gets grabbed in this new Samsung ad. Screenshot by Eric Mack/CNET

Methinks the folks at Samsung's ad agency have been watching too much "Mad Men." When the company unveiled the Galaxy S III in London recently, the Korean phonemaker told us time and again its new flagship Android phone is "designed for humans." Today it revealed a new ad that somehow manages to take this little bit of slogan stupidity to a new level.

The 60-second advertisement inexplicably starts out with a shot of a woman pretty clearly being felt up before melting into a montage of stock milestones from a stock lifetime -- wedding, childbirth, recital, etc. Presumably, I suppose, we should believe that the Galaxy S III is along for the ride all the way and although there's no way to tell it from the ad, Samsung's note for the video on YouTube inform us that it also "recognizes your voice (and) understands your intention."

Well that's very helpful. Now I'll have some help understanding what the guy with his hands all over the woman's chest in the first five seconds was intending.

The ad alludes to some of the phone's features, including facial recognition, location tracking and a Siri-like voice command feature, but we don't see them in action.

Watch the video below and see what you think. Is this truly an Android phone made for humans? Or a phone ad for humans that may as well have been written by an Android?