Mobile phone advertisers are quite literally trying to outshout each other through ads that are mostly irritating and intolerable and Samsung Mobile tops the heap

Anil Thakraney

It's been pouring mobile phone ads on our small screens for some time now. And the noise levels have gone through the roof, especially after number portability and 3G arrived. And of course, every time that there's a new cell phone model launched in the market.

Most of these ads are quite irritating and intolerable, as the advertisers literally get down to outshouting each other, seriously shooting up the sales of migraine tablets. At the top of the heap in the current blast on TV is Samsung Mobile. They have released three new commercials, and frankly I am unable to decide which one gets my goat faster. These ads are meant to sell their new handsets called Hero 3G, Galaxy Ace and Galaxy Pro.

The Hero 3G ad must be the worst of the lot. A bunch of guys have taken to skydiving. And as they float, dive and dance in the air, what do they do? No, they don't romance, they don't palpitate, they don't sing, they don't bond… instead, they discuss features of Samsung Mobile Hero 3G! No, I swear I kid you not. Can you even think of more incredible and nonsensical advertising? I certainly cannot.



Also, there's another thing that didn't strike the makers of this ad. Already, most users of 3G are unhappy with connectivity and clarity of sound. And in this commercial, the youngsters scream and shout in order to be heard! When what they ought to have been doing is whispering to each other, even if they were compelled to whisper features of the phone. That may have salvaged this commercial a wee bit.

The other two ads that sell Samsung's so-called smart phones are even less smart. A bunch of hip dudes and hot gals hold up the phones to the camera, and talk about the assorted phone features and applications! And they do it in a sing-song manner, hoping that the gimmick would have the viewers dying to watch this tamasha.



If it still hasn't occurred to you yet, Samsung Mobile has actually put out enormously boring product brochures in their television ads. In this day and age of heavy noise and massive ad clutter on the idiot box, it defies logic.

Only one question remains to be asked: How can a smart phone be backed by such inane advertising? How smart can the phone be with that sort of a resume?