With little more than a week until the release of The Force Awakens, the Star Wars marketing monster has kicked into overdrive. One of the latest ads to leverage the popular property to get people to purchase a completely unrelated product comes courtesy of Bell.
In its new 30-second ad, the carrier’s complete lineup of smartphones — minus the iPhone — duke it out for supremacy in a high-pitched space battle featuring, among other staples of the Star Wars universe, Tie Fighters and X-Wings. More than one publication has described the commercial as “epic.”
However, look a bit closer, and it’s interesting to see what side of Star Wars political spectrum Bell has decided to associate the various smartphone manufactures featured in its commercial.
Based on the screen cap seen below, it’s clear the Tie Fighters of the First Order, the political organization that succeeded the Galactic Empire in the aftermath of the Battle of Endor, are pictured on the screens of BlackBerry’s latest smartphone, the Priv. Mixed in with the Priv are what appear to be Samsung Galaxy S6 edge+ phones, though they clearly show the more nimble and battle-capable Tie Interceptor.
In other words, BlackBerry is the Jeb Bush of smartphone manufacturers, according to Bell.
Of course, none of this is an indictment of BlackBerry, its character and the quality of its smartphones if, like American Conservative Bill Kristol, you believe the Galactic Empire and its successor are not evil organizations.
.@adesnik @DouthatNYT No objective evidence Empire was "evil." A liberal regime w meritocracy, upward mobility. Neocon/reformicon in spirit.
— Bill Kristol (@BillKristol) October 20, 2015
Then again, the Empire did blow up a planet. If I were John Chen, I would be on the phone with BlackBerry’s lawyers right this instant, telling them to send Disney and Bell a strongly worded cease and desist letter.
Joking aside, it’s a fun commercial — the hyperspace tunnel toward the end made up of white Samsung phones is a nice touch. Based on the message at the end of the commercial, “Please don’t forget to turn off your cell phones before the movie,” Canadian moviegoers will have the opportunity to see this ad several throughout the winter movie season.
What do you think of the commercial? Tell us in the comments section below.
[source]YouTube[/source]
MobileSyrup may earn a commission from purchases made via our links, which helps fund the journalism we provide free on our website. These links do not influence our editorial content. Support us here.
