Samsung has announced via its US Twitter account that it will introduce its next device to the world with an advertisement during the upcoming Super Bowl XLVI. The ad will air during the fourth quarter of ‘America’s biggest game.’
We’re telling fans first: Next Sunday we launch a device so revolutionary only an ad in America’s biggest game can do it justice.
— Samsung Mobile US (@SamsungMobileUS) January 30, 2012
Shortly after revealing that the ad would go up during the game, Samsung said that it would also be the longest aired:
To make our first ever SB ad as noteworthy as the #GalaxyNote itself, it will be one of the longest in the game. Look for it in Q4!
— Samsung Mobile US (@SamsungMobileUS) January 30, 2012
That means that Samsung must have payed over $6 million for the ad as that’s what a 60-second spot is going for, with $3.5m the average price that a 30-second job runs this year.
So, what device could Samsung be introducing that will air in a commercial that cost more than 6 million and is likely to run for more than a minute? Our guess is that it is likely a tablet targeted at Apple’s iPad. The Galaxy Tab has failed to gain any real traction and the company desperately needs a big success in this arena.
It’s clear at this point that a large chunk of the hundreds of millions of PCs sold each year will be tablets and right now Apple is eating its competitors lunch. Samsung needs to make a huge move to gain a spot in the minds of tablet shoppers and I’d bet that this is its launch pad to do so.
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