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Huawei thinks Apple and Samsung stores are good places for ads

Commentary: In the UK, the Chinese gadget company thinks it wise to park large trucks with mobile ads for its P20 phone in strategic places.

Chris Matyszczyk
2 min read

Technically Incorrect offers a slightly twisted take on the tech that's taken over our lives.


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A good idea? Or a touch annoying?

Android Authority/Twitter screenshot by Chris Matyszczyk/CNET

It's not easy being shunned.

You can feel hurt. You might even want to protest. 

This may be what inspired Huawei to place mobile billboards outside Apple and Samsung Experience stores in the UK this week.

Samsung also placed graffiti on the sidewalks to tout that "The Renaissance is coming," as the Inquirer noticed. On March 27, apparently. 

It's good to know in advance so I can prepare my jerkin and tunic for the occasion. 

These ads tout Huawei's new P20 phones, which is to emerge on that day. 

Rumors have it that this phone will have a notch. Yes, just like the iPhone. Which makes it seem less of a Renaissance than it might. More of a Renotchaissance. 

Neither Apple nor Samsung immediately responded to a request for comment.

The billboards beg humans to "Be Patient" and "Wait," while placing a graphic emphasis on the letters "A" and "I." 

What can this mean? That this phone's robot will be more sophisticated than Google Assistant or Siri? That Huawei used AI to determine the perfect locations for these billboards and its clever robot suggested its competition's stores?

Huawei didn't immediately respond to a request for comment.

This is all happening as the Chinese company is having great difficulty invading the US. 

Yesterday, it lost Best Buy as a place to sell its wares. This comes after AT&T decided not to do business with the company either. Security concerns have also often loomed over the brand

I'm not sure whether trolling your competition with ads on trucks is the best way to excite potential customers. 

It can make you seem inferior, trying too hard to gain attention. It can also make you annoying if your trucks end up blocking traffic.

It even looks like a little like a protest, something rather frowned upon in China.

Still, perhaps when the phone emerges, its sheer gorgeousness will stop traffic. Or perhaps its stellar AI will be able to bring whole streets to a halt, just so that you can cross them safely without looking up from your phone.