Samsung took out an awkward Galaxy S6 ad touting the flagship device, but the odd thing about it was that it appeared at the top of Google results for the iPhone 6S, according to 9to5Mac . The ad seems to take advantage of the iPhone 6S’ raging popularity, while assuring the searcher that it’s “obvious” they meant to search for “S6” instead of the “6S.”
When searchers type in “iPhone 6S,” Google returns a page of results for the rumored device, just as loyal Apple fans expect, but once in a while, something triggers Google to return a page of iPhone 6S results that include a Galaxy S6 ad in the top paid-ad spot.
The Samsung advertisement is a sponsored ad placement, as evidenced by the yellow square with the word “Ad” in it and, according to 9to5Mac, it only appears for some people searching for the iPhone 6S. It also appears in random intervals.
The ad telling iPhone S6 searchers that they meant to search for Galaxy S6 reportedly started showing up yesterday, according to CNet, even though the Apple device hasn’t been confirmed to exist just yet, and could even have a different name altogether.
If the ad is fake, it is a really, really good fake. It was written in such a way that makes it obvious to most readers it is a joke but was done on purpose to ridicule iPhone 6S , according to Ubergizmo .
Apple and Samsung are longtime rivals and have been in and out of court over their respective devices’ designs, while each of the companies’ flagship devices also use similar naming conventions, which added to the tenor of the joke.
So, erm. This is awkward. #IPhone6s pic.twitter.com/eWqRcwpR8m
— Matt Jordan ? (@The_MattJordan) April 29, 2015
The advertisement was uploaded to Reddit by jon_reed , who writes, “Nice try Samsung.”
“Awkward You Obviously Mean S6 – www.samsung.com .”
The ad goes on to detail some of the Galaxy S6 features available, including battery life.
The original Samsung Galaxy S6 ad posted to Imgur was a screenshot taken on a mobile device, and the same ad was seen on Google’s desktop layout (above). This confirms that the Samsung ad appears on both mobile and desktop devices at random intervals.
According to Ubergizmo, “it wouldn’t be a complete surprise to learn that it might be the real deal,” especially considering how dedicated the two companies are as rivals.
A “pretty hilariously formatted attempt at hijacking searches for Apple’s rumored headset,” according to 9to5Mac, and a “pretty funny attempt at taking advantage of a convenient (or inconvenient for Apple I guess) naming similarly.”
A second Samsung advertisement, uploaded to Twitter, was spotted Wednesday, and it reads,
“Sorry, we thought you – samsung.com – meant Galaxy S6 with a beautifully crafted glass and metal body! Buy now”
While it is not unusual for companies to pay for ad placements using competitors’ search terms, it is unusual to see a company poke fun at its competitors’ loyal fans directly.
According to the Independent , Samsung has poked fun at Apple and its fans in the past, but notes that Samsung has yet to confirm whether it played an active role in paying for or placing the most recent iPhone 6S advertisements.
As of the time of publishing, the Inquisitr has yet to figure out how to trigger the conditions required for the Samsung Galaxy S6 and iPhone 6S ad to appear on a mobile or desktop platform.
[Photo Credits: Imgur , Samsung/YouTube, and David Baily/Twitter]
