Samsung has rolled out a few ads mocking Apple devotees in the last couple of years as it seeks to boost sales of its Galaxy handsets, but the one it released in Iceland recently will for many viewers be quite possibly the oddest yet.
Trumpeting the Galaxy S4’s support for the Icelandic language, the 56-second ad kicks off with a man in the middle of nowhere (ie. somewhere outside Reykjavik) sitting on a rock holding an apple. Judging by the way he’s tapping and swiping on the fruit, this confused-looking fella has been tricked into thinking it’s a handset – Apple’s handset, one assumes. Things go from bad to worse for the hapless protagonist when he tries to make a call on it.
Disappointed that it doesn’t appear to be functioning in the way he thinks it should, the guy gives a look of despair before throwing his head in his hands.
A message then shows up, which, according to Google Translate, means “Get a phone that understands you”. You might think you know what’s coming next, but the reality is, there’s no one on the entire planet who could possibly guess what’s coming next. Suffice to say, it involves more apples, some dancing ninjas and a bemused-looking ram (I know, I wasn’t even aware rams could look bemused until I saw this). A Galaxy S4 also appears.
The tagline is “Galaxy S4 understands Icelandic”, a language that would leave an iPhone feeling as confused as you after watching this ad. Specifically, the iPhone has no language or dictionary support (for predictive text and auto correct) for Icelandic, though it does have keyboard support.
Translated, the blurb that accompanies the video (below) on YouTube says, “[The S4] can control various functions and also allows you to write emails and text messages by speaking to the phone in Icelandic. Get a phone that understands you.”
Launched at the end of April, Samsung’s flagship handset has reportedly been selling well, crossing the 10-million mark in less than a month. However, whether the Korean tech company’s latest ad for the device results in a spike in sales in Iceland remains to be seen.
