Samsung interviews ex-Apple Geniuses who grew disillusioned with the company’s tech

A mini-doc from BBH and director Eric Wareheim aims to show the grass is greener on the other side

Published On
Nov 01, 2024

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Samsung continues to punch at Apple—a longtime strategy that found new energy after Apple’s ill-fated “Crush” ad earlier this year—with a new mini-documentary in which former Apple Genius Bar employees explain why they left the company, and why the Galaxy device (with Galaxy AI) is better than the iPhone.

The three-minute film was created by BBH USA and directed by Eric Wareheim of Prettybird. It takes a snarky yet lighthearted tone as the ex-Geniuses reflect on why and how they re-considered their tech ecosystem. (Samsung has been releasing clips from the film in recent weeks, but Ad Age is presenting the full piece above exclusively.)

Olga Suvorova, VP of mobile experience marketing at Samsung Electronics America, told Ad Age that the film is about challenging the status quo in an entertaining way—while showcasing innovative Samsung experiences powered by Galaxy AI—at a time when there have been questions around the efficacy of Apple Intelligence and other delays in Apple’s innovation pipeline.

Also read: Samsung jabs Apple with snarky response to ‘Crush’ ad

“Part of our goal with this campaign is to illustrate how appealing the experience is outside of following the same old upgrade,” said Suvorova. “We also want to inspire people who are on the fence and are craving something new, different and exciting to switch to the Samsung Galaxy brand. These are real stories about those who did just that.”

The company held a nationwide casting call to find ex-Apple Geniuses who had worked at a Genius Bar within the past five years. They were asked to submit a video recounting their history, why they left and their experience with Samsung.

The video will run on social media and on Samsung.com.

“Our effort is meant to grab attention, pique curiosity and conversation with a popular and familiar documentary-style format,” Suvorova said. “The humor was born from the real former Geniuses. There was a level of levity and self-awareness across all interviews, so we took that as our permission to be a bit cheeky with the edit and the music.” 

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