Nokia has done a Samsung and used its latest advert to bash Apple, revealing that the Cortana voice assistant packs a lot more smarts than the hapless Siri.
Looks like ripping on Apple is the fashionable thing to do in ads these days, and Nokia’s the latest company to sharpen its daggers. Its latest advert, called ‘Siri vs Cortana – Happy Anniversary’, shows the made-up results when an American chap tries to use both assistants to sort out his anniversary plans.
Nokia’s keen to highlight some of Cortana’s unique features which Apple’s Siri is so far incapable of, such as popping reminders on screen when someone calls you (in this case, say happy anniversary to your wife) and warning you of traffic snafus before you embark on a trip. The Anti-Apple slant isn’t too surprising given that Microsoft now owns Nokia – this ad’s basically sweet, delicious revenge for all those anti-PC adverts that Apple has churned out over the years.
Of course, the ad throws up all kinds of questions. Why didn’t the guy tell his wife happy anniversary that morning, before he left for work? Did he spend the night away ‘on business’? Will Caroline be delightedly sniffing her new roses, completely unaware of her hubby’s recent sweaty bump n’ grind session with Monica the buxom secretary in a cheap roadside motel?
This ad’s all well and good, of course, but us Brits still can’t use Cortana until Nokia has done fiddling with her and making her all awesome for the UK. We were supposed to be getting her in June, but it’s almost August and still no sign. Nokia has promised we’ll have Cortana by the end of 2014, but we’re hoping sooner rather than later…
There’s also rumblings that Cortana will sport a British accent (i.e. posh southern tones) when she hits the UK, which is a shame – we kind of like the Halo actress Jen Taylor, who voices the original US version.
Let us know if you think the star of Nokia’s ad is a cheating scoundrel in the comments below.
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