Ever heard of HTC’s “Quietly Brilliant” slogan? For the Taiwanese manufacturer, however, it seems as though HTC has been too “quiet” for too long, with the “brilliant” portion of the slogan in serious question after quarters of continued declining sales. Well, that led HTC to kill the “Quietly Brilliant” slogan in March of this year because, according to Marketing Chief Benjamin Ho, “We have a lot of innovations but we haven’t been loud enough.”
Well, one of Samsung’s Galaxy S6 edge Edge Lighting promos, in effect, steals HTC’s “quietly brilliant” slogan without saying a word. The promo features a selection of Samsung’s fellow rival smartphone manufacturers whose vibrating smartphones all have something of a starring role: some of Apple’s various iPhones that are out in the wild, a Windows Phone device or two (or three), BlackBerry Passport, Moto X, Moto G, and even a G Flex (perhaps the G Flex 2 here). The starring role for all these smartphones, however, is to keep the tune going by way of their phone vibrations. What’s the name of the tune? “Na Na Hey Hey (Kiss Him Goodbye)” performed by Steam. Each scene showcases a different phone vibrating a part of the song. It gets pretty funny throughout the vibrating tune, as an iPhone vibrates a note that’s slightly sharp (notes that aren’t attuned correctly can be either flat or sharp).
Other laughs through the commercial consist of the Moto X and Moto G that appear to prepare for an off-the-couch-onto-the-floor dive when vibrating. In contrast to the actions of these vibration-only smartphones, Samsung places its own Galaxy S6 edge and its new Edge Lighting feature: instead of the S6 edge vibrating like the others, it simply lights up with a blue-green light that then can be stopped with the tap of the heart rate monitor (that automatically sends a preselected text message to the contact who’s calling).
Yes, this promo occurs in typical Samsung fashion, with the “vibration” tune in the background having been carefully selected to match the theme of the promo: “Kiss all other phones goodbye.” What’s even more interesting is to see the smartphones that Samsung uses to provide part of the tune, with iPhones, Windows Phone devices, even a BlackBerry Passport, Motorola Moto X and G smartphones, and perhaps a G Flex. I didn’t spot the use of an HTC One M9 in here, but you likely have better vision than I do.
In any case, Samsung’s Galaxy S6 edge with its new Edge Lighting feature silences its rivals because, without making a sound, the Galaxy S6 edge will “quietly” notify you of a message or notification – at which point, you can then press the heart rate monitor and take care of the response in just one tap. No more having to unlock the screen, register your fingerprint or swipe, view the notification, and then either 1) send a text message, 2) return a phone call, or 3) send a pre-recorded message and make a mental note to call back later.
Of course, the Galaxy S6 edge’s Edge Lighting feature works in that you can select up to 5 contacts to color-code (choose a color for each of those contacts) so that you can automatically know who it is that’s calling when you see the color under the smartphone display. You can best view the Edge Lighting at work if you place the Galaxy S6 edge down face-first on a table or flat surface.
Samsung’s Galaxy S6 edge Edge Lighting promo shows that the S6 edge is, to borrow an old HTC slogan, “quietly brilliant.” It doesn’t have to make a sound to process and respond to notifications, and it can do so without you feeling awkward in the room during a team meeting when your smartphone starts vibrating weirdly – and loudly. One timeless marketing tactic of promos and commercials is to show what your product can do that others can’t, and Samsung’s achieved that here. It may not be enough to make you buy the Galaxy S6 edge, but when your phone starts its loud and embarrassing vibration “buzz” in your next team meeting, it may make you wish for 30 seconds that you had one.
