Earlier this week, there was a “Wake Up” protest held right outside a retail store of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) in Sydney, Australia. The group protest featured a bunch of people who wore all-black and carried signs that read “Wake Up”.
It was reported that Samsung instigated the protest but the company just recently came out to deny the allegations.
The reason for the rumor? Earlier, Samsung released an advertisement for their upcoming Galaxy S III smartphone. The ad suggested that if you buy their new phone, you will stand out from the crowd of iSheep (aka iPhone users). This was not the only dig the Korean tech company made at Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL). Last fall, they launched an ad campaign that features the following premise: An Apple fan is standing outside a store that appears to be an Apple store. While they are patiently waiting to secure the latest gadget, they openly complain about their current phone model despite the fact they’re waiting in line for another similar gadget, that is until they spot someone’s Galaxy S II phone.
The Wake-up Australian mob has a strange webpage that is essentially a countdown. The website is registered with New Dialogue (ad agency) which was then rebranded under a new name Tongue. The people behind the anti-Apple campaign have yet to step forward.
If the flash mob protest was indeed a clever ruse from Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd. (LON:BC94), we will probably about more protests in the near future. In the meantime, I’m going to take Samsung’s word on this one. Sure the flash mob was strange but there was no product placement in the rally. Besides, if the company was behind it, how would they benefit from denying their involvement? More importantly, if you wanted to sell your product, you would want people to know your name and product. You also would want to paint a positive image for your brand. None of that was achieved with the strange protest. Besides, there are better ways to sell your product and Samsung knows this.
