Samsung attacks iPhone 5 in new Galaxy S3 print ad

Samsung drops all pretence of class and shamelessly targets Apple's iPhone 5 in new Galaxy S3 print ad.

Set to hit newspapers across the USA tomorrow, Samsung’s latest print advertisement aims to make the iPhone 5 look low-end in contrast to the Galaxy S3.

The new advertisement claims “The next big thing is already here.” From the looks of the ad, Samsung has yet to move on after being ordered to pay Apple $1 billion in damages back in August. Publishing an advertisement directly comparing Apple’s products with its own is a bold move from Samsung, especially since it lost the court case to Apple for infringing on its patents.

The print ad carries the tagline, “It doesn’t take a genius.” This is a play on Apple’s Genius branding, referring to in-store Apple experts and the online recommendation system for iTunes and the App Store. It also implies that choosing the Galaxy S3 is a no-brainer for consumers, considering it’s large number of features over the iPhone 5. There’s a clear hitch with this type of comparison, however, as Samsung has (for obvious reasons) made the list of features quite one-sided in the Galaxy S3′s favor.

Without placing any bias in favor of one phone over the other, Samsung does omit some popular, well-known features of the iPhone 5. For instance, where’s FaceTime, iCloud, or iTunes integration? And Android 4.0 is a year old now while iOS 6.0 is brand new, is that really something to brag about?

Attempting to smear the competition’s hardware isn’t the most mature way to market a product. No one’s saying the Galaxy S3 is an inferior device, but Samsung could have easily focused on the stellar features of its own device rather than taking another stab at Apple that comes across as petty. Rumor has it Samsung has a video ad in the works as well, in the same vein as its Galaxy S2 commercials showing a line up of people waiting for the new iPhone while ogling Samsung’s newest Galaxy handset.

A few parodies of the ad — presumably made by fans of Apple — have already begun to circulate the net, giving the Samsung a taste of its own medicine. Here’s one courtesy of Business Insider and created by Tim Sears that hits Samsung right where it hurts.

What do you think? Is Samsung employing smart marketing or does the whole thing come off as a bratty child acting out?