Skip to main content

This inventive ad is how all smartphones should be advertised

Image used with permission by copyright holder

Most TV commercials for smartphones, and many other pieces of modern technology, concentrate on pushing the “features and benefits” in an established, easy to understand way. Throw in a celebrity or two, an upbeat piece of music, and some monolithic shots of the device itself, and another day is complete at Cookie Cutter Media, the ad agency everyone seems to use. Not so for Chinese phone brand AGM. A mystery ad executive somewhere was tasked with bringing attention to its AGM X2 rugged phone, and decided not to do so with some people enjoying a day on the mountain, or out sailing, but in a wonderfully silly, slightly sci-fi way. It’s the way all phones should be advertised.

AGM X2 Floating phone || Funny Ad || Chinese -English || ஏஜிம் எக்ஸ்2 || சீன நகைசுவை விளம்பரம்

The advert was released at the beginning of the year and has recently gained attention internationally, thanks to several helpful translations posted on YouTube and elsewhere. It follows a woman whose husband tragically dies young, but doctors are able to seemingly place his consciousness inside a phone — the AGM X2 — that she can carry around and interact with her departed husband as if he was still alive. Because this is a phone ad, the X2’s rugged features are demonstrated in the, shall we say, unusual scenarios that follow.

Why is it so great? The actress taking the lead overacts in exactly the right fashion, the gang leader and his goons that make an appearance later on are perfect stereotypes, and the overwrought music is used at just the right moments. It is, without a doubt, a glorious celebratory mashup of many cheap sci-fi films, slapstick comedies, and delirious drama movies which end up as cult classics. We think a lot of people had fun making the ad, and we had fun watching it. Way more so than seeing Zooey Decshanel ask Siri if it’s raining, and yet another feeble dig at the competition from Samsung.

Has it made you want to buy an AGM X2? You’ll have to import one and pay $515 if so, but you will get an IP68 water resistant phone with shock protection, a Snapdragon 835, dual rear cameras, a 6,000mAh battery, and a volatile organic compound sensor for detecting air quality, much like the new Cat S1.

Oh, and just in case you think all AGM’s commercials are as fun as this one — sadly it’s not the case. A more serious ad for the AGM X2 shows the phone at the North Pole. It’s undeniably cool, but we think Cookie Cutter Media had a hand in its creation.

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…
These hilarious ads from the 1980s and ’90s show how far mobile tech has come
80s 90s mobile phone commercials large

With Samsung having just released several of its latest flagships phones and Apple gearing up to launch the highly anticipated iPhone 12, we can expect to see some pretty slick marketing campaigns in the coming weeks and months. So before all that kicks off, let’s take a moment to enjoy some classic mobile phone ads and marvel at how different it used to be when it came to hawking a handset to the masses.
The RadioShack phone pack
Retro Commercial - Radio Shack Cell Phones - 1990

The opening scene of this ancient Radio Shack commercial cleverly lulls us into a false sense of security by showing us a device that appears to consist of only a handset. Just as we start to feel impressed by the “small” size of this handset, the carefully constructed illusion is suddenly blown away as the guy exits a car carrying an enormous box that’s also needed to make the darned thing work. It’s really all downhill from there.
Motorola's mobile monstrosity
1980s mobile phone Tv Ad

Read more
Oppo Find X2 launches with whopping 3K-resolution screen
Oppo Reno 10x Zoom review

Update: We’ve spent enough time worth the phone to declare it Oppo’s most well-rounded package to date. Read more in our Oppo X2 Pro hands on.

Oppo launched the Find X2 smartphone on March 6, a new date following the cancellation of Mobile World Congress 2020 (MWC 2020). Ahead of the launch, Oppo Vice President of Global Marketing Brian Shen shared a few details about the phone on his own Twitter account, and told us the phone will have a screen with a 3K resolution, and a 120Hz refresh rate.

Read more
Oppo Find X2 Pro hands-on review: A leather-clad stunner
Oppo Find X2 Pro

Wrapped in bright orange vegan leather, the Oppo Find X2 Pro is among the most eye-catching, tactile phones of 2020. More importantly, it looks like the Find X2 Pro is Oppo’s most well-rounded phone package to date.

The newly announced Find X2 Pro provides sensory overload out of the box, but what about the rest of the phone? Following the virtual launch event in London, I spent a short time with the Find X2 Pro to see if it lives up to the expectations generated by its fantastic appearance.
Smooth, posh design
While it’s a departure from the futuristic Oppo Find X, which had a form factor unlike anything before it, the Find X2 Pro is still a very attractive phone, reminding me of the 2019 Huawei P30 Pro; the curved screen, the off-center camera bump on the back, and even the vegan leather option itself is borrowed from it. This makes it pretty, well-balanced in terms of design, and comfortable to hold, but it does make it slightly derivative, especially placed alongside its unique predecessor.

Read more