• by Sarah Mahoney , 49 minutes ago

 
Ditching a long-term relationship is never easy. But Samsung’s playful new “Switchers” campaign provides plenty of laughs, highlighting the not-so-logical fears people have about moving on from their old smartphones.

The campaign puts some famous faces on the couch of Dr. Orna Guralnik, the breakout star of Paramount’s “Couples Therapy.” Her “patients” include pop-culture personalities Ciara Miller and Dylan Efron, reality TV favorites Carl Schmidt and Aniya Harvey, and football legends Nick Foles and Clay Matthews.

As one person in each couple dares to get vulnerable and reveal their secret fears to the clinical psychologist -- like worries about “being the green bubble guy” or “I just appreciate self-preservation!” -- they endure the frustration of their partner. Sometimes, they act it out with mean therapy puppets.

With all your switching problems solved, Dr. Orna asks, “why wouldn’t you upgrade to a better phone?”

The new ads also offer a chance to analyze Samsung’s latest foldable lineup, including the Galaxy Z Fold8 Ultra, Galaxy Z Fold8, and Galaxy Z Flip8.

The campaign, created by Chromista, premieres with local and national spots on "Monday Night Football" and includes digital, social, connected TV and out-of-home.

Samsung has even created an emotional-support soundtrack called “Switch Mix,” a custom-branded playlist on Spotify.

The new push breaks as Samsung -- by far the leader in the folding phone category, with a 40% share of market -- switches to defense, with Apple’s just-announced iPhone Duo set to debut soon. Counterpoint, a tech research company, expects foldable phone sales to increase 20% this year. It predicts that as the Duo rolls out, Samsung’s market share in this category will shrink to 31%.

Samsung says consumers are already more open to switching, with 30% of Galaxy Z Flip8 buyers coming from competing smartphone brands. It also says both Galaxy Z Fold8 and Z Fold8 Ultra are drawing a higher share of competitive switchers than its previous Z Fold7, accounting for 23% and 12% of buyers, respectively.

The new ads also plug Smart Switch, a data transfer app that lets anyone switching from iOS or Android move existing data across devices, including contacts, photos, videos, messages, apps, and settings.

The spots underscore Samsung’s conviction that resistance to switching is more emotional than technical. “The relationship we have with our phones is deeply personal,” said Keena Grigsby, vice president and CMO of mobile experience at Samsung Electronics America, in the campaign announcement. “They hold our memories, connect us to the people we love, and are part of how we navigate our everyday lives.”