Unlike Microsoft that showcased Surface on more than one occasion or Nokia that pitched the Lumia 920 against the iPhone 5, Samsung mostly kept quiet about its Windows 8 and Windows Phone 8 lineup. Breaking the silence, the South Korean company introduced a video ad featuring ATIV devices today.
Portraying ATIV devices as crisis-solving solutions, the advertisement introduces the company's Windows Phone 8 smartphone, the ATIV S and ATIV Smart PC (Pro), Windows RT (8)-based tablet as devices suited for active businessmen such as Hunt. Using the latter device he's shown editing a PowerPoint presentation on the go, and also uses the S Pen stylus to add notes. Then the central role is taken by the former device, using the included Office suite allows a colleague to edit an Excel workbook.
The key point is focus on benefits, rather than features. Too often tech marketing is a specs checklist, which is particularly tempting for a hardware vendor like Samsung to do. Instead the advert focuses more on software benefits. The locales are exotic (for Americans, anyway) and storyline dramatic.
Apart from the obvious marketing "plot" the ad presents the ecosystem formed around Windows 8 and Windows Phone 8. The emphasis is on business collaboration and integration with Microsoft services, both of which are important for post-PC devices.
Editor: The soundtrack really makes the commercial zing.