Nokia takes aim at iPhone with Lumia 900 viral ad campaign

At least one piece of Nokia's (NYSE:NOK) advertising campaign for its flagship Lumia 900 Windows Phone appears to be coming into view, with the company taking on Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) and other smartphone makers in a series of Web ads.

Click here for Nokia's teaser video featuring Chris Parnell.

The company launched a new website, SmartphoneBetaTest.com, that features a clock counting down to April 6, as well as Saturday Night Live alumnus Chris Parnell simply waiting in a chair for the clock to tick down. The site also features three "behind the scenes" videos that poke fun at the "antennagate" controversy that affected Apple in 2010, as well as smartphone's fragility and the inability to clearly see smartphones' screens in bright sunlight. (Those last two spots in particular could be ways to highlight the Lumia 900's features--the device sports a sturdy unibody exterior and ClearBlack display designed to display content in sunlight).

A Nokia spokesman did not immediately respond to a request for comment, but the site WPCentral found several telling signs that Nokia is behind the website, including what appears to be a scratched-out Nokia logo in the top left corner.

AT&T Mobility (NYSE:T) will launch the LTE-capable Lumia 900 April 8 for $99.99 with a two-year contract, and Nokia and its partner Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) clearly have a lot riding on the launch. AT&T has said its marketing blitz for the Lumia 900 will be its largest ever for a smartphone, eclipsing even the iPhone.

With no new iPhone on the horizon for the spring and with Android smartphone vendors still rolling out Google's latest software update, Ice Cream Sandwich, Nokia and Microsoft have a window to try and build momentum behind the Lumia franchise and Windows Phone more broadly. However, the window is likely to be narrow as HTC is launching its One series of smartphones and Samsung is gearing up to introduce its next flagship device, the Galaxy s III.

For more:
- see this Smartphone Beta Test site
- see this Mashable post
- see this WPCentral post

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