Samsung copied from Apple to promote a Galaxy S26 Ultra feature
Samsung appears to have borrowed heavily from Apple's iconic 2024 Safari ad as both firms promoted privacy features.
Samsung Privacy Display ad copies Apple | Image by PhoneArena
Samsung has come up with some of its best ads when taking on Apple. One of these was the infamous "Wallhuggers" spot that showed iPhone users at an airport looking for an outlet where they could plug in and charge their phones. The 60-second spot focused on outlets outside of, and inside of, the bathrooms.
Samsung has had its share of great ads
Near the end of the ad, a Galaxy S5 owner is swapping out the battery of the phone for another cell that has been charged and was sitting in the user's pocket. Most smartphones these days have batteries that are sealed inside the device and cannot be accessed by the user. However, starting February 18, 2027, phones and tablets sold in the European Union (EU) must be powered by batteries that are easily replaceable using commercially available tools.
But there is a huge exception that will affect most flagship and some mid-range phones. If your phone is water-resistant and after three years of use it can still retain at least 80% of its capacity, the battery can remain sealed. This will save Apple from designing the first iPhone model with a user-replaceable cell.
Of course, there is Sammy's infamous "Apple Store line" ad
Another great Samsung ad showed actors portraying Apple fans standing in a line outside an Apple Store as they waited their turn to enter the location to purchase the iPhone 4S. As we pointed out in the article written about this ad more than 14 and a half years ago, the best line came from an iPhone user who said about the new model, "If it looks the same, how will people know I upgraded?"
Which ad do you like better?
Just the other day we showed you an ad Samsung is running in Brazil for the Galaxy S26 Ultra's Privacy Display. This is the feature that protects whatever information is on your screen by making it impossible for someone not holding the phone directly in front of their eyes to see.
Anyone trying to view your display from the side will find that the entire screen, or certain areas of it, are covered. You'll be able to set the Privacy Display to cover all of the screen or just certain areas, such as the part of the display where notifications come up, or where you type in passwords. This prevents others from obtaining the credentials they need to access personal accounts.
Samsung's ad for the Galaxy S26 Ultra's Privacy Display might give you nightmares
The ad from Samsung Brazil shows a man looking at his phone as he walks through the city. Giant eyeballs are all over the place trying to view his display, and as he runs onto the roof of a building, we see that these giant eyeballs are everywhere. Meanwhile, calmly watching the events unfold through the window of a coffee shop, a woman is holding her Galaxy S26 Ultra when she sees one of the giant eyeballs staring at her. She opens the settings menu of her phone, toggles on the Privacy Display, and the giant eyeball goes away.
The ad does a good job of promoting the Privacy Display, but it instantly reminded me of a similar ad run by Apple in July 2024 promoting Safari's privacy features. Instead of giant eyeballs, we see Android users looking at their browsers getting spied on by mechanical flying cameras that resemble birds. Besides the obvious similarities to the Samsung spot, the iPhone ad also takes place in a city, and both ads end the same way.
Both ads end in a similar fashion
In both ads, the entity spying on the people using their phones, whether it is a giant eyeball or a mechanical flying camera, blows up and disappears. This occurs when a toggle is tapped turning on Samsung's Privacy Display, or when the Safari icon is tapped, opening the privacy-focused Safari browser.
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