Samsung runs anti-iPhone ads ahead of Super Bowl

Samsung has resumed its ads jabbing iPhone 4S waiters with a new spot as part of what should ultimately lead to a Super Bowl promo. The 30-second clip shows more iPhone queues, this time at night, and touts the Galaxy S II's advantage of having Google Maps Navigation. When asked how much he paid for the app, the Android phone owner says he "just has it" for free.

"Oh, we just got Samsunged," says one of those in line, who sits behind stanchions with a striped hoodie in a way that implies he's a prisoner.

The ad isn't as misleading as an earlier cloud music spot. Google Maps Navigation is preloaded on virtually all Android phones and is often cited as one of the selling points. Free turn-by-turn GPS apps exist for the iPhone, but most of these are using crowdsourced maps rather than those using entirely professional map data.

A switch to night time and a different set of characters than earlier ads is a likely clue as to the possible Super Bowl spot. Samsung kicked off the initial campaign with a long ad set in the daytime that was later divided into a series of shorter ads, each expanding on one of the themes from the parent ad. It may reverse that process for what's still considered the most valuable segment of airtime on TV.

Whether or not Samsung's ads have been effective is still under debate. Although the campaign is considered one of the more memorable from December, outside studies gauged that Apple's Santa ad for the iPhone 4S had the most impact. The iPhone 4S launch also rapidly cooled Android gains, according to Nielsen, and it's still believed that the iPhone outsold Samsung on every US carrier where the iPhone is available.

By Electronista Staff

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iPhone, industry, Android, Samsung, mobile phones, Apple, Galaxy, Galaxy S II, iPhone 4S, Google Maps Navigation