We have seen some companies poke fun at another in ads, and one of the more memorable ones that I grew up with was the tagline, “Sega does what Nintendon’t”. Who could forget the Pepsi-Coke war as well, and in the realm of geeks, we have tech companies taking pot shots at one another, all in good humor with a dose of truth in them. Motorola did stick its tongue out at the Samsung Galaxy S3 recently, and here we are with LG taking jabs at Apple in rather aggressive newspaper ads and posters, but industry observers are far from impressed with this ad campaign, saying that it will do little, if nothing, for the short-term growth and long-term globalization strategy for LG.
In fact, the ad campaign does seem to swim against the tide of LG’s initiatives that asked for a unified front in brand and marketing strategy. After all, Apple maker is an important business client for LG, and even LG Chairman Koo Bon-moo did ask for “synergy” between affiliates before. What do you think of the print ad on the right that sees the LG Optimus G smartphone slice through a half eaten apple? Brilliant, or just shooting themselves in the foot? We will let time decide. [Press Release]