The Galaxy S22 series is finally official, and everything the rumors said was true. What the leaks didn’t reveal was an unexpected Samsung-Netflix partnership on a Bridgertonbased on the Galaxy S22 ad that’s both brilliant and incredibly grumpy.
Unsurprisingly, Samsung can’t pass up the opportunity to poke fun at Apple, even though some of these ads often backfire on Samsung in the long run. But take out the Apple element, and the ad would play differently, when Samsung and Netflix could use that particular association.
The Galaxy S22 series offers some notable developments for Samsung that deserve recognition. First, Samsung kept the Galaxy S21 pricing structure in place for another year. This is something Galaxy S22 buyers will no doubt appreciate. Second, Samsung is giving buyers some amazing perks that make pre-ordering the Galaxy S22 too good to pass up.
Plus, four years of guaranteed Android updates give you another reason to buy a more expensive phone. It will age more gracefully than other 2022 flagships or mid-range Android handsets.
Finally, the Galaxy S22 Ultra brings back the Note while firmly killing the Note brand in the process. The Ultra is more of a Note than a Galaxy S, but Samsung chose not to take advantage of the Note branding in stride.
The Galaxy S22 is the most important Samsung device of the first half, and the Bridgerton reflects this. The ad focuses on regular Galaxy S22 models that have nothing to do with the stylus.
The Galaxy S22 Bridgerton to add
The Galaxy S22 is available for pre-order in multiple markets right now, with a February 25 release date. Also, the second season of Bridgerton is set to arrive on Netflix on March 25. Which is to say that a joint Samsung-Netflix promotion for these two flagships makes a lot of sense. After all, both companies are looking to improve their finances in 2022.
Netflix is the king of streaming, but its stock tanked by 25% after its last quarterly earnings report. Likewise, Samsung dominates the smartphone industry, but it’s not thanks to phones like the Galaxy S22. Samsung’s flagship can hardly match the iPhone in terms of sales. And Samsung’s performance in China last year is proof of that. While Apple led the Chinese market in the December quarter, Samsung was included in the “other” category.
Bringing the Galaxy S22 to the Regency Era Set of Bridgerton is therefore an excellent approach. We see Queen Charlotte (Golda Rosheuvel) hosting the season’s Inventors’ Ball at the palace. This is where Lord Tristar presents paintings of the Galaxy S22. Tristar, by the way, is a game on Samsung, which translates into three stars from Korean.
No one understands the device that will take 209 years to manufacture. Lord Tristar describes it as a “matching device that produces moving images”. Later in the ad, he tells the Bridgerton queen that the three circles on the back are the “large sensor camera”. This camera “captures outstanding night shots with image stabilization”. Lord Tristar cannot explain what this means.
The apple in the room
This is all hilarious and works great, both for the Galaxy S22 and Bridgerton. But Samsung couldn’t pass up the opportunity to poke fun at Apple in an ad. Before seeing Lord Tristar’s creation, it is Lord Macintosh who shows up to demonstrate a simple invention. The raincoat. It has nothing to do with the iPhone, but it’s clearly a hit at Apple. And that ruins everything.
Samsung can’t shake off its need to poke fun at Apple in ads, even though the Galaxy S22 doesn’t need to compare to the iPhone to sell well. Additionally, we’ve seen Samsung’s marketing department fumble with anti-Apple messages several times over the past few years.
Samsung mocked Apple for removing the headphone jack. He then followed Apple’s lead. Likewise, the company took a swipe at Apple for removing the charger from the iPhone’s retail packaging. But then he quickly copied it. And who can forget the anti-notch advertisements that Samsung released once the iPhone X design was released? But have you seen the Galaxy Tab S8 Ultra?
Yet Samsung insists on bringing Apple into its ads, like the Galaxy S22 Bridgerton campaign, ignoring the obvious side effects. And since we’re looking at the Galaxy S22 from the perspective of Bridgerton, we will point out that Lord Tristar is simply showing a vaporware technology that cannot be implemented. While the raincoat is usable immediately.
As for the descendants of Lord Tristar, it will take 209 years to develop the Galaxy S22. Longtime smartphone fans will remember what that entails. It will have to wait for Lord Macintosh’s successor to offer the iPhone first so that Samsung can copy it down to the smallest detail in the first few years. Only then will designs like the Galaxy S22 be possible.