Samsung’s “Next Big Thing” Campaign Reportedly Drove Phil Schiller “Crazy”

We’re sure some of you guys might recall that a while back, Samsung put out a series of ads that basically targeted iPhone users and Apple. It was part of Samsung’s “Next Big Thing” marketing campaign and made fun of iPhone users who were lining up outside the Apple store to get their hands on the new iPhone.

Apple has never really been the type to respond with witty and humorous ads of their own, so it was unclear as to whether or not Samsung’s marketing tactics worked. While on the surface it seemed like business as usual, apparently internally the ads were not sitting well with Apple’s marketing chief, Phil Schiller.

According to Samsung’s attorney, John Quinn who spoke during the Samsung versus Apple trial taking place this week, he revealed an internal email from Phil Schiller to his team which said, “We have a lot of work to do to turn this around.” In fact Quinn was quoted as saying, “This new, edgy marketing strategy … it drove Apple crazy.”

Quinn goes on to state that Schiller became “obsessed” with the campaign and petitioned Apple’s CEO, Tim Cook, to consider using another ad agency instead in a bid to help them combat Samsung’s marketing campaign. This became such an issue that even Apple’s board of directors were involved in the discussion of it.

Is any of this true? Well Phil Schiller will be Apple’s first witness and presumably the topic could be brought up, so check back with us later this week for the details!

Tyler Lee
Categories: Apple
Tags: Legal, Samsung