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Samsung Uses Ice Bucket Challenge To Troll Apple, HTC, Nokia
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By now you’ve likely seen videos of people dumping buckets of ice water on their heads as part of the “Ice Bucket Challenge,” a viral stunt designed to raise money and awareness for ALS (also known as Lou Gehrig’s disease) research. Tech CEOs, celebrities and ordinary people have all doused themselves in the name of a good cause, or perhaps just to ride the crest of the latest hip meme.
The popularity of the Ice Bucket Challenge has given rise to something of a backlash, as well as a backlash to the backlash. Whatever you think about it, clearly there’s marketing gold here just waiting to be exploited. That whooshing sound you hear is Samsung’s UK-based marketing team saddling up to ride out to meet the challenge.
In the video below, the company’s flagship smartphone, the Samsung Galaxy S5, gets doused with icy water then calls out the Apple iPhone 5S, HTC One M8 and NokiaLumia 930 to also take the challenge. While the level of tact involved here is clearly questionable, Samsung at least earns some honor points for not mentioning the phone’s waterproof rating. Although, it’s likely no coincidence that the three competing phones called out do not carry such a rating. Very sneaky, Samsung.
Just about the only thing saving Samsung from enshrinement in the marketing sleaziness hall of fame here is that, of course, the whole point is to encourage donations — in this case, to the Motor Neurone Disease Association. So, well done, I suppose.
To jack in to my brain and get more on the latest in science, tech and innovation, follow me here on Forbes, as well as on Twitter @ericcmack and on Google+.
