Since I've been watching this space, I have yet to see one Samsung endorsement from a person who actually liked and used the product they were endorsing. Last night's Oscars was no exception. I am convince that the reason Samsung sponsors such shows is to keep iPhones and iPads from being front and center in every shot. Coverage of events like the Super Bowl and Olympics is lousy with iPhones and iPads when no money changes hands. Samsung products are seen only when Samsung buys up all the air space. That's what happened at Last night's Oscars. Except...

Samsung is slowly learning that you can't keep a good fan down. Ellen Degeneres, the host of the Oscars, took a star-studded selfie that generated the most retweets in history. She took it with a Samsung phone, as per her contractual obligation. However, the moment she got backstage, she dumped the Galaxy as far, far away as she could, in favor of the iPhone she actually likes and uses. As you can see in the above photo, that tweet was sent from her iPhone. 

This is not the first time this sort of thing has happened recently. In fact, it may not even be the most embarrassing. Appleinsider provides a list of examples, many of which, I have already covered in other posts:

Oscars host Ellen DeGeneres poses for Samsung sponsored selfie, but tweets from her iPhone

Last year alone, Samsung spent $14 billion on marketing, a figure that investors have targeted as extravagantly excessive. But even as the company works to reduce its marketing expenses, Samsung is struggling with expensive sponsorships where celebrities have put their free Galaxy back in the box to use iPhones.

At the last Summer Olympics, Samsung signed an "exclusive agreement with David Beckham to be its global brand ambassador for the London 2012 Olympic Games," but Beckham was, embarrassingly for Samsung, just spotted using his iPhone 5s at the Super Bowl.

David Beckham back to iPhone after Samsung sponsorship
Samsung has regularly experienced difficulty in avoiding embarrassment after key sponsors continued using iOS devices, most notably via Twitter. In December, Samsung launched a "Galaxy 11" fantasy soccer team campaign that was intended to go viral, but instead went awry when star team manager Franz Beckenbauer tweeted out Samsung's prepared remarks from his iPhone.

In October, T-Mobile chief executive John Legere intended to use Twitter to direct attention to Samsung Mobile's latest Note 3 phablet and the company's Galaxy Gear watch accessory, but inadvertently did so via his iPhone 5s.

Last spring, Samsung's sponsored Spanish tennis star David Ferrer tweeted out ostensible satisfaction with his #GalaxyS4 and stated that he was "configuring S Health on my new #GalaxyS4 to help with training @SamsungMobile," albeit from his iPhone.

There are many other examples, but you get the idea. To my knowledge, this has never happened to Apple. I have yet to see someone endorse an Apple product, then immediately turn around and tweet from a different device. Of course, Apple usually steers clear of celebrity endorsements. They simply do not need them. Celebrities are seen liking and using Apple products all the time without Apple paying them a dime. Samsung buys fake fans to obscure Apple's real ones. That really should tell you all you need to know about Samsung and their products.

David Johnson