Skip to main content

This is how Samsung’s trying to sell the Galaxy S6 on Apple Watch launch day

James Corden and his alter ego Wilf launch Samsung Galaxy S6
You’d be forgiven for forgetting April 10 is Samsung’s Galaxy S6 and Galaxy S6 Edge launch day, thanks to all the hype and excitement over the Apple Watch. Samsung’s doing it best to shout loudly over all the noise, and ensure those who aren’t interested in the new wearable will pop out and grab an S6 instead.

How’s it doing this? Samsung has released a brand-new advert to promote the phone featuring James Corden. Who, you may ask? Corden is one of the former stars of hit U.K. sitcom Gavin & Stacy, but is now best known as the new host of the Late Late Show. What better introduction to unfamiliar U.S. audiences than in a cliched, cringe-making commercial for a new smartphone.

Corden plays two roles in the ad. Suited, beardy presenter Corden, and a more bearded, campy, and irritating luvvie Corden known as Wilf, who is in charge of directing the commercial. Yes, it’s rather hard to tell which Corden is the one we’re supposed to identify with and enjoy watching, seeing as they’re both, well, annoying versions of James Corden.

Corden the presenter wants to promote the Galaxy S6’s good points — great battery, a cool design, fast camera, and wireless charging — but director Corden is more concerned with making “art.” Yawn, and in the spirit of the commercial itself, double yawn. We’d rather see the dual curved screen of the S6 Edge in more detail than all this dual Corden nonsense. Samsung should be very thankful the Galaxy S6 is way better than this ad.

Elsewhere, Samsung’s doing a few more interesting things to get S6 fans out and about. In the U.K. it has hidden eight Galaxy S6 phones in eight different cities, and is giving clues to their whereabouts through its Samsung Mobile U.K. Twitter account. Phones in Glasgow and Edinburgh have already been claimed, and another six will be discovered and claimed before the end of the day. It’s even live streaming the proceedings on a dedicated website.

It’s a fun, engaging, and involving scheme, and considerably more interesting than the Corden video. Best of all, seeing as there’s no point in queueing for the Apple Watch today, Samsung’s giving U.K. mobile geeks a reason to leave the house.

Editors' Recommendations

Andy Boxall
Senior Mobile Writer
Andy is a Senior Writer at Digital Trends, where he concentrates on mobile technology, a subject he has written about for…
5 things I want to see in the Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra
The Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra and S Pen stylus on its screen.

The Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra is definitely one of the best smartphones on the market right now, no doubt about that. You get incredible performance with the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 chip, plenty of RAM and storage, a whopping 200MP camera, two telephoto lenses for 3x and 5x optical zoom, S Pen integration, and more. It’s certainly an impressive package.

But it’s not perfect. In fact, some weaknesses could be improved in the next version, the Galaxy S25 Ultra. Here’s what I hope to see next year.
A new design
Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra (left) and Galaxy S23 Ultra Andy Boxall / Digital Trends

Read more
Should you buy the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 5 or wait for the Z Fold 6?
The Galaxy Z Fold 4 (left) and Galaxy Z Fold 5 rear panels.

The Galaxy Z Fold 4 (left) and Galaxy Z Fold 5 Andy Boxall / Digital Trends

If you’re in the market for a foldable phone, the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 5 is one of the best you can get. Hands down. This is especially true considering that Samsung has five years of experience in the foldable market.

Read more
Does the Samsung Galaxy Watch 6 work with the iPhone?
Apps page on the Samsung Galaxy Watch 6.

Samsung's Galaxy Watch 6 is a popular choice for a smart watch, available in both regular and classic forms. The bright, vibrant display and improved battery life to keep going all day offer an enticing option, even making for a tempting upgrade from the Galaxy Watch 4 or Galaxy Watch 5.

However, before you buy a smart watch there's always the sticky question of phone operating system compatibility. To be useful, you need to link your smart watch to your smart phone -- but not every option for smart watch software plays nice with every phone OS. Samsung's smart watch options work happily with Android devices, but if you're hoping to use a newer Samsung smart watch with your iPhone then you'll run into some problems. Essentially, the newer versions of the Galaxy Watch aren't compatible with iOS, so they're not going to work with your iPhone.
The Samsung Galaxy Watch 6 does not work with iPhones

Read more