Kevin BosticA new ad out from LG pays homage to an Apple ad showing off the iPhone 5's panorama capabilities, right before it skewers the ad by showing the expanded panoramic capabilities of the Optimus G Pro.
For the first 30 seconds or so, the LG spot (via MacMagazine) is a tweaked, but faithful, reproduction of the Apple ad in which an iPhone user takes a panorama shot of a line of joyful children. It mimics the white background, the elongated "Cheeeeese" (here "Kimchiiiiiii") and the quirky background music, as well as the long-framed picture the panorama shot produces.
At about the 30 second mark, though, the LG spot beings showing off the wider camera capabilities of the company's flagship Optimus G Pro. Instead of moving solely on a horizontal axis, the photographer begins moving the camera vertically, capturing the ceiling, floor, and surrounding material of the shot.
The resulting image is a multi-dimensional panorama, navigable by touch on the Optimus G Pro's screen. Google added this capability, dubbed "Photo Sphere," to its Android OS in late October with the release of 4.2 Jelly Bean. Images captured in this manner can be uploaded to Google+ or Google Maps for sharing with others.
Less emphasized in the course of the commercial is another feature of the Optimus G Pro's camera, a tracking focus setting that allows the device to keep moving objects in focus.
William Gallagher
Christine McKee
AppleInsider Staff
Chip Loder
Malcolm Owen
57 Comments
I usually think that the best advertisements are the ones where you don't need to make reference to your competitors (hence why I think so many of the Apple ads are top notch). But this one is well done in my opinion. Comes off as an almost playful jibe at Apple.
Thats nice... I have doing that with Photo-synth for years on iOS. Thats what happens when you have a healthly app eco-system.
Love it. Especially "Kimcheeeeeeee" :) Much classier than Samsung ads.
I agree, it's pretty well done even tho they obviously play on Apple's panoramic feature. In this case I think it's effective advertising. FWIW that streetview-like panorama feature on the LG is actually built into Android as far as I can tell. It's on the Nexus 4 as well.
I usually think that the best advertisements are the ones where you don't need to make reference to your competitors (hence why I think so many of the Apple ads are top notch). But this one is well done in my opinion. Comes off as an almost playful jibe at Apple.
In the end, whether you are pitching your product on its own merits or dissing others, it's all about making it memorable in a good way. Very few people would look at one feature and instantly change their minds about which phone to buy. Having said this, if enough ads make it look like the iPhone is deficient in some ways, some of the undecided folks may be swayed. OTOH, the US market is not going to change that much in the near future, is it?