Skip to main content

Motorola takes a dig at Samsung’s iPhone parody with ‘up-upgrade’ ad

Motorola - Up-upgrade
Samsung’s recent ad attempting to persuade iPhone fans to ditch their Apple-made handsets in favor of the Galaxy Note 8 was a clever piece of marketing that put a smile on the faces of many who watched it. The ad ended by imploring people to “upgrade to Galaxy.”

Lenovo-owned Motorola, clearly not one to miss a trick, has now responded with its own amusing effort that takes on both Samsung and Apple.

The 30-second ad (above) effectively carries on from where Samsung’s effort left off, with the protagonist, having finally jumped ship from Apple to Samsung, looking satisfied with his $930 Note 8.

Chilling out at home with his partner beside him, he happily shows her the video he shot of the two of them out together, with the picture looking great on the device’s gorgeous 6.3-inch display.

His partner, who in the Samsung ad persuaded the guy to get the Note 8, gives him a look as if it to say, “Didn’t I tell you? I got rid of the Galaxy.”

She reaches for her $500, 5.5-inch Moto Z2 Play, slots it into one of the device’s many modular options, and places it on the coffee table. Before the guy can say, “But you just told me to get the Note 8,” we’re all watching the Z2 Play project the same video onto 70 inches of wall in the couple’s living room. And it looks great.

The guy cracks half a smile, with the other half of his mouth refusing to join in as he weighs up the hassle of switching phones again. Even though he really should be happy with the Note 8.

The ad closes by mocking the ending of Samsung’s ad, telling us to “up-upgrade to Motorola.”

And in case you missed it the first time around, here’s the Samsung ad that Motorola mocks:

Samsung Galaxy: Growing Up

While we don’t expect that too many people will be rushing to swap their Note 8 for a Moto Z phone, the ad nevertheless gets the word out about the modular system of the Z family, which lets you easily add feature-boosting devices like a speaker, camera, battery, and yes, a projector, to your handset. The mods don’t come cheap though, with the projector, for example, coming with a $300 price tag.

DT has in-depth reviews of both the Z2 Play and the Galaxy Note 8, so go check ’em out.

Editors' Recommendations

Trevor Mogg
Contributing Editor
Not so many moons ago, Trevor moved from one tea-loving island nation that drives on the left (Britain) to another (Japan)…
AT&T just made it a lot easier to upgrade your phone
AT&T Storefront with logo.

Do you want to upgrade your phone more than once a year? What about three times a year? Are you on AT&T? If you answered yes to those questions, then AT&T’s new “Next Up Anytime” early upgrade program is made for you. With this add-on, you’ll be able to upgrade your phone three times a year for just $10 extra every month. It will be available starting July 16.

Currently, AT&T has its “Next Up” add-on, which has been available for the past several years. This program costs $6 extra per month and lets you upgrade by trading in your existing phone after at least half of it is paid off. But the new Next Up Anytime option gives you some more flexibility.

Read more
Motorola is selling unlocked smartphones for just $150 today
Someone holding the Moto G Stylus 5G (2024).

Have you been looking for phone deals but don’t want to spend a ton of money on flagship devices from Apple and Samsung? Have you ever considered investing in an unlocked Motorola? For a limited time, the company is offering a $100 markdown on the Motorola Moto G 5G. It can be yours for just $150, and your days and nights of phone-shopping will finally be over!

Why you should buy the Motorola Moto G 5G
Powered by the Snapdragon 480+ 5G CPU and 4GB of RAM, the Moto G delivers exceptional performance across the board. From UI navigation to apps, games, and camera functions, you can expect fast load times, next to no buffering, and smooth animations. You’ll also get up to 128GB of internal storage that you’ll be able to use for photos, videos, music, and any other mobile content you can store locally. 

Read more
The Nokia 3210 is the worst phone I’ve used in 2024
A person holding the Nokia 3210, showing the screen.

Where do I even start with the Nokia 3210? Not the original, which was one of the coolest phones to own back in a time when Star Wars: Episode 1 -- The Phantom Menace wasn’t even a thing, but the latest 2024 reissue that has come along to save us all from digital overload, the horror of social media, and the endless distraction that is the modern smartphone.

Except behind this facade of marketing-friendly do-goodery hides a weapon of torture, a device so foul that I’d rather sit through multiple showings of Jar Jar Binks and the gang hopelessly trying to bring back the magic of A New Hope than use it.
The Nokia 3210 really is that bad

Read more