Samsung Instinct ad campaign - Wireless Turkeys 2008

Why is it a turkey?

Heralded as an iPhone-Killer, the Samsung Instinct--sold at $130 with a two-year contract from Sprint after a $100 mail-in rebate--made a big splash on its debut, about three weeks before the launch of the iPhone 3G. Sprint trumpeted as its "fastest-selling EV-DO phone ever." [1] And yet, as the Age of the iPhone dawned, the Instinct failed to catch on.

Sprint asked its customers to produce videos promoting the phone in their home videos [2] and post them to YouTube. The first 1,000 videos were to be accepted and film makers would get $20. One video would win $10,000.

Then Sprint decided to do this itself, producing commercials for the Instinct that were faux-spoofs of movie genres, featuring the phone.

But the Instinct has yet to match the levels of enthusiasm that the iPhone 3G has experienced. Sprint seems to encourage the comparison between the two devices. The carrier mentioned the iPhone 3G in its ad campaign and there is even a link on the official Instinct website about why the Instinct is better than the iPhone 3G. According to the NPD Group, the iPhone 3G was the top-selling consumer handset in the United States in the third quarter. The Instinct was not in the top 5.