Often times in political ads all we see is bashing of the other candidates. Personally, I have never been fond of those ads, but they are quite common and I do see how they might be effective. What is much less common than a political ad that bashes its opponent is an ad product that makes its product look better by bashing its competitors. For some reason, I enjoy those ads, even though I dislike their political equivalents.
I guess I view them as less dirty, because they are bashing a product, rather than a person. Also, I find them as more trustworthy, because I have a hard time trusting anything political. I think that it is fair game to point out the flaws of another product.
Recently, a Samsung ad did just that. The opportunity was certainly there, because the iPhone 6 had some well-publicized flaws. Most notably, users have been complaining that the phone bends after being in their pocket. I felt as though it was just a matter of time before another company capitalized on that flaw.
There are videos on the internet of people bending the iPhone with their bare hands, and on social media there have been numerous posts that poke fun at the bendability of the new iPhone. However, I had not seen any ads poking fun at it until the recent Samsung ad.
As you can see, the ad is meant to be funny. However, I think that it is also meant to be informative. It informs the public that the iPhone 6 Plus has a definite flaw. What I really like about this commercial is how clever it is. I like how it took the flaw of the iPhone and presented it in a humorous way that also established that the Samsung phone was superior.
However, Samsung was not the only company that used the flaws of the new iPhone to bring attention to its product. Interestingly, Heineken did the same thing.
I was surprised at first that a seemingly unrelated company like Heineken would try to capitalize off of Apple’s troubles, but after thinking about it, it made sense. The bendability of the iPhone 6 has been one of the hottest topics on social media, so if you can find a way to tie your brand into all of that hoopla then you will likely be able to put a lot of eyes on your ad. I think that Heineken did a great job of that.
What do you think? Is it fair game to bash another product to make yours look better?
References
Love, D. (2014, September 25). New Samsung Ad Capitalizes On Apple’s iPhone 6 Plus Bending Problem. Retrieved September 25, 2014, from http://www.ibtimes.com/new-samsung-ad-capitalizes-apples-iphone-6-plus-bending-problem-1694861
Loyola Digital Advertising [로욜라 디지털 광고] 
I really like the Heineken advertisement, I think that it’s witty and is more of a positive message. I don’t, however, like the Samsung and Windows advertisements. All they do is seemingly bash Apple products, it seems uncreative – tell me why I should buy your product, don’t poke holes in other products.
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I really enjoyed this article because it brought attention to such a recent ad. While I think that it is kind of rough to take Apple’s latest problem as a way to boost popularity of one company, it is a clever advertising tactic. It is powerful because it is so unexpected and takes a shot at one of the biggest companies in the world. It is a quick and powerful way to grab the attention of a target audience and as a consumer I think it’s funny to see companies “throwing shade” at one another.
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I thought various companies really capitalized on this fantastic opportunity to show some of their brand personality. It was not even limited to just competitors of the phone world like Samsung. KitKat, Heineken and so many others jumped on the band wagon to show their sense of humor well also promoting the idea that their companies are easy going and personable.
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I personally wouldn’t have made the connection with the Heineken ad and iPhones bending. It is very cleaver now that I actually understand it, but without that background knowledge the message isn’t clear.
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