Samsung pays people to protest outside Australian Apple Store; goal is to mock iSheep culture

posted by Alan F. / Apr 26, 2012, 6:03 PM

Samsung pays people to protest outside Australian Apple Store; goal is to mock iSheep culture

How Samsung sees Apple iPhone and Apple iPad users

Samsung is really trying to push this image of Apple iPhone and Apple iPad users as sheep. After releasing a video that did everything but directly call out all users of Apple devices as sheep, the Korean based manufacturer has ratcheted things up a notch. This week, Samsung paid an Australian marketing company called Tongue to provide protesters to stand in front of an Australian Apple Store and scream, "Wake Up!" The protesters were bused to a location and started the chant that is designed to tell iOS users that they need to wake up and stop blindly following other iOS users.

At the same time, Samsung has put up a "Wake Up!" Australia web site that includes a countdown timer currently at 8,330,000 which is probably counting down toward the launch of the Samsung Galaxy S III, "The next Samsung Galaxy" or whatever the device is going to be called. Visit the site by clicking on the sourcelink. In the meantime, check out how aggressive Samsung has become by clicking on the video below!

source: Samsung via AndroidandMe

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83 Comments

1. Commentator

Posts: 3722; Member since: Aug 16, 2011

Yeah, because dressing in black uniforms and following the beck and call of some guy with a megaphone because a multi-billion dollar corporation pays you too is so much more enlightened...

posted on Apr 26, 2012, 6:07 PM 10

8. nyamo

Posts: 274; Member since: Mar 19, 2011

hey now, everyone needs a paycheck of some sort

posted on Apr 26, 2012, 6:21 PM 11

24. APPLE_ROYALLY

Posts: 25; Member since: Apr 24, 2012

We do not like this® We hear and see and no that others call apple users and owners fans sheep®

posted on Apr 26, 2012, 6:55 PM 0

27. Commentator

Posts: 3722; Member since: Aug 16, 2011

APPLE_ROYALLY: Hey man, I don't really want to be associated with you... like, at all. So, for future reference, could you please NOT reply to my comments, even if we do happen to agree on an issue? 'Kay, thanks!

posted on Apr 26, 2012, 7:10 PM 9

70. PhoneArenaUser

Posts: 5498; Member since: Aug 05, 2011

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ISheep

posted on Apr 27, 2012, 5:11 AM 3

28. ardent1

Posts: 2000; Member since: Apr 16, 2011

More example of sour grapes by Samsung. If I ran Samsung, rather than spending the money on such a stupid marketing ploy, I rather offer contests for free special edition Samsung phones. I will spend the same amount of money, get more free publicity, and be positive in the process.

posted on Apr 26, 2012, 7:27 PM 9

53. plgladio

Posts: 314; Member since: Dec 05, 2011

That is the reason you are not running Samsung. Also they are contests. This is all marketing, what you think will not be the same like others and you can't expect the same. Even I don't like Apple but this is too much from Sammy..

posted on Apr 26, 2012, 11:01 PM 7

58. crankyd00d

Posts: 191; Member since: Oct 17, 2011

And that's precisely why it's genius, because it is stupid, so it is perfect for all of those iDiots! Bloody brilliant

posted on Apr 26, 2012, 11:46 PM 2

45. JGuinan007

Posts: 699; Member since: May 19, 2011

I agree I love my Galaxy Note but Don't like Samsungs current campaign against Apple they should show off the power and features of their devices not belittle the "sheep" and hope they will turn around and buy a product from the company that teased them that will never convert them.

posted on Apr 26, 2012, 9:16 PM 6

75. Commentator

Posts: 3722; Member since: Aug 16, 2011

Positive advertisements are more effective than negative ones, especially when it comes to fostering brand-loyalty. Who's to say that somebody won't see this protest and go out and buy a Windows Phone instead, simply because they have the lowest consumer base and therefore the lowest amount of "sheep." I also think it's kind of disingenuous for a manufacturer of Android phones to be doing this to Apple when Android has twice the market share of iOS.

posted on Apr 27, 2012, 10:30 AM 1

73. rf1975

Posts: 264; Member since: Aug 01, 2011

Look like they are telling to Apple store employees that Samsung are copying your iPhone, iPad and Apple Store so wake up.

posted on Apr 27, 2012, 9:23 AM 1

77. RobotMan

Posts: 145; Member since: Apr 13, 2012

”Samsung Electronics Australia has nothing to do with the ‘Wake-Up Campaign” the company told SlashGear today. Maybe, just maybe, it was done by Apple.To make Samsung lay low on it ad .

posted on Apr 27, 2012, 1:43 PM 0

78. Commentator

Posts: 3722; Member since: Aug 16, 2011

No, I don't think Apple would try to draw attention to its competitors like that. Apple has always marketed as though the iPhone is "the only phone there is." It's probably just some social activist nutjobs who would do the same thing to Samsung.

posted on Apr 27, 2012, 3:58 PM 0

2. sorcio46

Posts: 435; Member since: Jul 27, 2011

photo description: "How Samsung sees Apple iPhone and Apple iPad users" It should be: "How EVERYONE sees Apple iPhone and Apple iPad users"

posted on Apr 26, 2012, 6:10 PM 21

7. Commentator

Posts: 3722; Member since: Aug 16, 2011

No, that's pretty much how a small minority of tech-interested people (including myself, I'll admit) sees Apple users. The vast majority of people in the world see them as people who made the choice to spend their money on Apple products instead of something else and don't give it much more thought.

posted on Apr 26, 2012, 6:21 PM 11

74. rf1975

Posts: 264; Member since: Aug 01, 2011

So the world see the Samsung users as blacksheeps......

posted on Apr 27, 2012, 9:24 AM 1

3. mullman85

Posts: 12; Member since: Dec 28, 2011

That is Awesome!!! :-)

posted on Apr 26, 2012, 6:13 PM 10

4. Mark.J.Linskiy unregistered

Haha, love it. Samsung is just having some fun, but that is how most people view Apple product users. As long as it's entertaining, I'm fine with it, lol.

posted on Apr 26, 2012, 6:19 PM 8

50. KFear

Posts: 170; Member since: Feb 06, 2012

Most people DO NOT see apple users as SHEEP. They see a terrific product that has great features and is USER FRIENDLY. I'm an android fanatic, but i certainly admire the iphone, it's just not my product of choice and I don't agree with Apples politics. But again, most people don't see Apple or their customers this way. This is a poor campain.

posted on Apr 26, 2012, 10:28 PM 5

51. bbblader

Posts: 590; Member since: Oct 24, 2011

so the subtext is that you don't want to buy movies and music and pirate them? Yohoho Captain

posted on Apr 26, 2012, 10:39 PM 0

5. Berzerk000

Posts: 4275; Member since: Jun 26, 2011

It is extreme, but the message is true. People do need to wake up about Apple products. I absolutely can't stand people who buy one of their products and then brag about how it's the best thing in the world, and when I ask them why, all they say is "Because it's made by Apple" and all I can think of in my head is... You have to be kidding me. I hate those "Because it's an iPhone" commercials. All the stuck up people who blindly follow Apple's lead. If you buy Apple products because of the OS, I don't mind, that's your opinion and I have nothing against that (I actually like their desktops, their alright) but if you get one JUST because it's made by Apple, and you didn't even bother to look at what any other manufacturer had to offer, and tried it for yourself, I have little to no respect for you.

posted on Apr 26, 2012, 6:19 PM 19

23. Commentator

Posts: 3722; Member since: Aug 16, 2011

I think you're taking it a little far to have "no respect" for somebody. They're purchasing a cell-phone, not murdering their children or hiring prostitutes or any other ethically-dubious action that warrants a loss of respect. Many of these consumers are probably genuine, good-hearted people with loving families who don't have the time to nitpick what they want in a smartphone like we do. To most people, smartphones make up a tiny, nearly-insignificant part of their lives.

posted on Apr 26, 2012, 6:52 PM 2

52. TheGreatXavi

Posts: 10; Member since: Nov 27, 2011

wow thats true...... for me smartphone is just another gadget.....i rather look around music store 3 hours to buy good guitar than smartphone.....not everyvody is gadget geek you know

posted on Apr 26, 2012, 10:50 PM 2

65. thelegend6657 unregistered

Dude my father is buying the new iPad tomorrow and waiting patiently for the gs3 announcement , currently rocking an iPad1 , galaxy s2 and galaxy s1 . So what should you call him ? I sheep or s sheep ?

posted on Apr 27, 2012, 2:11 AM 1

66. frydaexiii

Posts: 1476; Member since: Dec 01, 2011

You hear that? That's the sound of none of us giving a crap...No one called your dad a sheep in the first place.

posted on Apr 27, 2012, 2:17 AM 0

82. Jonathan41

Posts: 532; Member since: Mar 22, 2012

This touches on a comment I made before: A lot of people buy iPhones just because there iPhones. A lot of them don't really know anything about dual core, quad core, etc. Their just buying iPhone because they want to have that phone they see constantly in the media and hears about in the news. Most iPhone costumers go in to the store saying "I want an iPhone." Hell, some of the older people don't even know what the damn thing looks like, and parents get them because thats what their children want, and the children want it so they can be like the stars and the popular kids playing their Gameloft games. It's very rare that costumers are well informed about the specs or any of the other phones on the market when purchasing an iPhone. The iPhone's best asset is its name. People hear iPhone and think "Oh, thats the best because, that's the phone the stars have right?" and the don't even go thought the trouble of seeing what else is on the market. It's commodity fetishism (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Commodity_fetishism). The iPhone in are society symbolizes "status" just like what we say before with Blackberry's. We saw it with the Instagram fiasco. The general reation put forth by iPhone users was basically "don't let those poor android users have what we have!". That doesn't sound like a reaction from a well informed costumer to me when there price difference between top android phones and the iPhone are not far apart. Thats not to say that there aren't well informed costumers buying iPhones as well but, they mostly do it for the extraordinary developer support of the App Store. Almost all major dev's put there app on the App Store before any other app market be it the Play Store or Windows Phone. Some of them don't even bother to put there apps anywhere else at all and there are reasons. The point is thought that Apple really doesn't have to be the best in spec. department, they only have to be just a good as their competitors and they will still win in sales because Apple keeps their devices in the media. The only way that will change is if people become informed about the other phones on the market.