By analyzing advertisements between two leading smart phone distributors we can see how advertisements are giving one company an edge. The first advertisement starts out at a small grocery story late at night. The door swings open and we immediately see a recognizable face, Lil Wayne. With his distinct style of dressing, large number of tattoos, and unmistakable dreadlocks, Lil Wayne is an icon in the rap community. As he walks into the store, the viewer is drawn to the noise of champagne falling on the floor. Upon closer inspection we can see that Lil Wayne is pouring a bottle of what appears to be expensive champagne onto his unidentified phone. As he enters, and while continuously pouring champagne on his phone, he asks the cashier if they have fine champagne. The cashier replies, “in the back” but with the expression one would assume a man would have when he sees a man pouring champagne onto a smartphone. We then hear the footsteps of Lil Wayne as he walks to the back of the store to get his “fine champagne.” He then approaches the cashier with another bottle of the exact champagne he had been dousing his phone with before. 

This is where the commercial takes a turn in the most brilliant direction. As the viewer, you have unwittingly been exposed to one of the most crucial features of the Samsung Galaxy S, which is its water resistant capabilities. This is an advancement that Samsung knows they have on Apple, and they flaunt it at almost every chance they get. As Lil Wayne reaches the counter he places down the bottle to pay for it. Instead of doing the pop culturally expected rapper maneuver of pulling out an oversized wad of money to pay for his champagne, he simply pulls out his trusty champagne covered phone and uses electronic Samsung pay. Displaying another feature to his champagne drenched phone to the viewer. This helps highlight to the viewer the simplicity and ease with which Samsung users can pay at everyday places. Lil Wayne then simply pops the freshly electronically purchased bottle, and he immediately begins pouring it onto his phone again. He then walks out of the store leaving the cashier bewildered as he continues to pour champagne on his phone while he exits the store. It is not until the very end of the commercial when the narrator finally says the name of the product, “The new Samsung galaxy S 7 edge” as the phone falls in slow motion in to a pool of water. The Samsung logo flashes for a few second and the commercial is over.

Now to some, this may seem like a funny ad, and it may even grab their attention for a few moments. To me, this add resembles true genius. First of all, we are introduced to a familiar celebrity at the beginning of the ad who Samsung’s target audience would be interested in. We are then even more intrigued as the celebrity we know and love begins pouring champagne onto his phone. This comes off as absurd to the viewer because the majority of smart phones are not water proof including Samsung’s biggest competitor the IPhone. By using Lil Wayne’s fascination with the phone’s waterproof capabilities, Samsung can highlight their products new feature. This does a far better job than Lil Wayne simply listing the phone’s new capabilities because it helps keep the viewer engaged and inquisitive. By using Lil Wayne’s intriguing and captivating action, Samsung does a masterful job of highlighting its new phones capabilities as well as its durability. They accomplished this all and also gained notoriety by having a well-known rapper agree to endorse their product. This new string of Samsung advertisements will help them outsell and eventually overtake Apple as the leader in smartphones. 

By offering better incentives for their product such as a lower price, water resistance, and fast charging they are soon to gain many customers who are fed up with Apple being behind the curve. In the beginning Apple’s iPhone was the gold standard and they had monopoly in the smart phone market, but through the use of trendy and effective ads Samsung has been able to close the gap. Apple’s iPhone 6 released around the same time as the Galaxy S 7 and it lacked features in all departments. Apple’s phone was not water resistant nor did it have fast charging. Apple also stuck to the same ad campaign they have been running for years, which is that their phone is more stylish. Samsung was quick to take the edge in advertising when the phones were released by showcasing the numerous features of the Samsung Galaxy S which the IPhone 6 does not have. 

Apple’s advertisements used to rely solely on the fact that their product was sleeker and better looking than any other, and sometimes worked better. This was their selling point for years because they had a monopoly on the market and everyone believed they had the best product. As the later year IPhones came out, it became clear that Apple had become self-absorbed with its own image so much that they would sacrifice design over functionality and performance. This was present in their advertisements which showed little advancement and improvement between phones. At first this was a good advertisement move for them to help make the style and design of the IPhone well known throughout the world. But now many years down the road it will begin to cost them dearly as other companies begin to modify their phones to the consumer’s demands as well as coming up with new ad campaigns to target the ever changing market. 

If apple does not advertise their next phones water resistance, better battery, and fast charging in a crafty and appealing way they will likely begin to lose out to companies like Samsung because of inferior advertising. On the other hand, Samsung has seen the chink in the armor of Apple, and through advertisements like this have begun to expose the flaws in Apple’s phones while also promoting the abilities and positive aspects of their own devices. With witty and alluring advertisements like this, the strategic use of celebrities to promote and feature their product in commercials, and a new and innovative approach to building a smartphone that the customers want rather than trying to stick to a stagnated style, Samsung will likely leap ahead in sales and revenue with its new phone all because of the way they have advertised it so effectively. 