The archive · Marketing & Growth · Marketing decision · 2021–2022
Samsung iTest turns an iPhone into a Galaxy — D&AD Black Pencil 2022
Samsung simulates Galaxy One UI inside a web app on iPhone — so Apple's own screen becomes the rival's showroom; 5.5M users test-drive it.
Samsung Electronics
What it had to solve
Samsung New Zealand needed iPhone owners to consider a Galaxy, but loyalty and fear of an unfamiliar OS blocked any real comparison; Apple also barred a test app from the App Store.
How it works
Samsung New Zealand briefed DDB Group's digital agency Tribal Aotearoa to motivate iPhone users to switch to Galaxy — a near-impossible ask, because research showed Apple owners weren't comparing features at all. The real blocker was fear: Android felt unknown, complicated and unintuitive, and a belief like that can't be argued away.
The answer was iTest, a web app that turns an iPhone into a Samsung. Users install it from itest.nz onto their home screen, and the app convincingly mimics One UI — navigation, app interaction, texting and calling, theme customisation and even camera features — with text-message tips, easter eggs and prizes along the way.
Because Apple would never allow a rival simulator in the App Store, the team soft-launched in New Zealand with small social ads. It was picked up by MacRumors and every major tech site, reached 2 million users in its first weekend and more than 5.5 million from 234 countries overall. D&AD credits it with a 10% rise in Apple-to-Samsung switches in New Zealand, and it won a Black Pencil plus Yellow, Graphite and Wood Pencils at D&AD 2022.
Why it lands
- It replaces persuasion with experience: users judge Samsung on their own device, with no store visit or commitment.
- The competitor's hardware becomes the media placement — a twist that earned global earned coverage on a tiny NZ budget.
- The insight was precise: people feared the unknown OS, so the idea removed the unknown rather than attacking Apple.
- The App Store barrier forced a soft launch, which accidentally made word-of-mouth the distribution engine.
What it did
Over 5.5 million Apple users from 234 countries downloaded iTest, with 2 million in the first weekend alone; D&AD reports a 10% rise in Apple-to-Samsung switches in New Zealand. The work won a D&AD Black Pencil plus Yellow, Graphite and Wood Pencils.
What you can take
When the barrier is fear of the unfamiliar, let prospects try the product inside the environment they already trust — the competitor's device becomes your own media.
Since then
iTest became one of the most talked-about campaigns of 2021 and swept awards: a D&AD Black Pencil (Mobile Media), a Yellow Pencil for Online Experiences, a Graphite Pencil for Media and a Wood Pencil for Digital. It also collected a Cannes Lions Media Grand Prix mention at Cannes 2022 and appeared in the D&AD Annual editorial as a case study in using a rival's device as your own showroom.
Sources
- Samsung iTest — D&AD Awards winner
- Samsung invites consumers to make the switch to Android with iTest launch via Tribal Aotearoa
- Tribal Aotearoa: Samsung gets Apple users to try Android – on an iPhone
- Inside the campaign that turned an iPhone into a Samsung Galaxy
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