Samsung’s Head Ambassador Sued for Using iPhone
The android brand, Samsung, is getting together to sue its Russian brand ambassador for $1.6 million for using an iPhone X. Ksenia Sobchak is being sued for allegedly using an iPhone X in public instead of handsets that she was supposed to be promoting. As her job, Sobchak is responsible for marketing the Samsung smartphones in the country. Sobchak is contracted to use only the Samsung smartphone in the United States. Under the terms of agreements between the two companies, they are not typically allowed to be seen using competing products, especially in public.
According to The Mirror, the head ambassador was seen using the Apple product on a television set while the cameras were rolling, with the personality attempt to hide the smartphone under a piece of paper. Sobchak is typically seen using the iPhone X during social events, like the one at the television set, which is also against the contract rules that she agreed to. These things done by the ambassador may be hurting the Samsung brand that she is supposed to be promoting, so it would be wise for Samsung to sue. The pay of Sobchak is currently unknown, but the reported amount of claimed damages for the suit are far higher than her pay. These damages are including the penalties that she will have to pay because of her prior contract agreement.
Sobchak is not the first celebrity ambassador to be caught supporting another brand. According to gizmochina.com, in 2014 Maroon 5 singer, Adam Levine, was caught promoting an appearance of the iPhone on T.V. one week after he was seen promoting Samsung’s Milk Music Service, including the suggestion of holding an “iPhone burning.” Further, Levine was signed up to perform at the iTunes Music Festival. Another celebrity, Anushka Sharma posted pictures that were supposedly taken from the Google Pixel 2 smartphone. However, the “via iPhone for Twitter” watermark appeared next to the tweet.
Altogether, Samsung is not happy at all and wishes that celebrities would take more ownership and take the company more seriously in terms of representing them. With Sobchak being the goddaughter of Russian leader Vladimir Putin, it will be interesting to see how things unfold with how he handles things. In terms of the smartphone, the bigger question is what makes the iPhone so popular that it keeps celebrities coming back to it so often?