That isn’t Apple’s former CEO promoting the Galaxy Z Fold 8 in a new Samsung ad — “Tim Cook from Palmerston North” just happens to have the same name and look a lot like him. Released right as Apple announced its iPhone Duo, the ad mimics Apple’s cinematic product launch videos, with “Tim Cook” saying “the future is here.” Samsung also takes a jab at Apple’s Tim Cook with a reference to his recently updated profile picture.
It’s the latest in Samsung’s long-running history of ads dunking on its biggest rival, like one ad from over a decade ago that makes fun of iPhone fans willing to wait in lengthy lines for Apple’s latest phone. Then there’s the ad for the Galaxy Note 8 that features a viral shot of a diehard Apple fan with a haircut matching the iPhone’s notch. Samsung did a whole series of “Ingenius” ads teasing Apple’s Genius Bar tech support, with customers asking an Apple Store employee if iPhones have various Samsung features, like a headphone jack or an included fast charger.
Not all of the ads take a comedic tone, though. A 2024 Samsung ad responded to controversy around Apple’s “Crush” iPad ad with a scene of a woman playing a damaged guitar on a re-creation of Apple’s set, featuring the tagline “Creativity cannot be crushed.”
Samsung and Apple’s rivalry has even inspired spinoff ads from other companies — Microsoft once released an ad suggesting the two camps “kind of like fighting.”