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Jay said |

looks to be a campaign for samsung’s new phone… http://www.galaxys3blog.net/2012/04/wake-up-australiacomau-for-next-galaxy.html

Kevin said |

I guess this article explains the “Wake Up” message:

http://www.smh.com.au/technology/technology-news/rim-behind-wake-up-protest-at-sydney-apple-store-20120501-1xvui.html

RIM behind ‘Wake Up’ protest at Sydney Apple store
May 1, 2012 – 11:38AM
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‘Wake Up’ protestors outside Apple’s Sydney CBD store. Photo: YouTube
BlackBerry maker Research in Motion (RIM) has owned up to being responsible for an extended protest outside Apple’s Sydney CBD store last week after online sleuths traced the source of the publicity stunt.

The protest involved a flash mob of black-clad demonstrators shouting at Apple customers to “wake up”.

A YouTube video of the protest spread across the internet and people immediately suspected Samsung, which is about to release its Galaxy S III smartphone and has previously staged marketing stunts near the Apple store.

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The ‘Wake Up’ protesters outside the Apple store in Sydney. Photo: YouTube
But RIM today admitted to being behind the stunt, which was part of a larger viral marketing campaign.

“We can confirm that the Australian ‘Wake Up’ campaign, which involves a series of experiential activities taking place across Sydney and Melbourne, was created by RIM Australia,” the company said in a statement.

For over a week, people dressed in black have stood outside Channel Seven’s Sunrise studios in Sydney’s CBD holding signs of the slogan, and just this morning a speedboat sporting the logo reportedly raced around Sydney Harbour.

A screenshot of the countdown on the Wake Up website.
‘Wake Up’ can be seen at the bottom of the swimming pool at Icebergs, a sports club in Bondi Beach, as well as on numerous billboards across Sydney and Melbourne, including one near the Sydney Harbour Bridge.

The campaign also has a website, featuring nothing but the slogan ‘Wake Up’ and a countdown timer, which has been timed to the release date of BlackBerry’s new operating system BlackBerry10. The stunt also coincides with the BlackBerry world conference, which is currently taking place in Florida.

Blackberry was once the device of choice for executives due to its email capabilities, and had even gained some consumer cachet up to a few years ago. However, this dropped off dramatically following the rise of touchscreen smartphones running iOS and Android, both of which have strong email features.

Before it was revealed that RIM was behind the stunt, Samsung yesterday denied any involvement in the campaign.

“As a market leader in smartphones we think Australians have already woken up to the multitude of choices available, but kudos to whoever is behind the campaign,” said the company in a statement.

Internet sleuths first raised the alarm bells last week when they worked out that the mysterious countdown on the Wake Up website did not line up with the release date of the Galaxy S III, as it was originally thought.

Blogger and MacTalk contributor James Croft examined the source code of the Wake Up website and found a Doubleclick account identifier that linked it to RIM’s Australian website.

“Clearly the evidence is starting to stack up in favour of them being behind the whole mess,” Croft wrote on his blog yesterday before RIM had owned up.

It also emerged earlier this week that the man who managed to capture the protest at Apple on video, blogger Nate ‘Blunty’ Burr had previously worked with BlackBerry. Burr’s YouTube video of the stunt has so far clocked up over 445,000 views.

RIM Australia says a ‘reveal’ will take place on May 7 that will “aim to provoke conversation on what ‘being in business’ means to Australians”.

Read more: http://www.smh.com.au/technology/technology-news/rim-behind-wake-up-protest-at-sydney-apple-store-20120501-1xvui.html#ixzz1ta5FKFlZ

Gooby said |

DOES ANYONE HAVE AN EXPLANATION FOR THE MYSTERIOUS ‘WAKE UP BOAT’?!!!?!11

pls

FM said |

oops…just saw all other posts – ignore my last msg

julica said |

not paid by ssung either but wake up looked great in the pool last thursday too http://julicainbondi.wordpress.com/2012/04/26/guten-morgen-bondi/