Amazon.com thinks the 8.9-inch Kindle Fire HDX is a better tablet than the iPad Air, and the company isn’t afraid to say so in a new ad that mocks the Apple tablet and a top Apple executive.
The uses a voice with a British accent to point out the features of the iPad Air, poking fun of Jony Ive, Apple’s British-born design chief, who frequently appears in videos describing the company’s new products.
For every feature the British voice describes, an American voice points out how the 8.9-inch Kindle Fire HDX is better, featuring a higher-resolution display, weighing 20% less and priced starting at $379, while the iPad Air starts at $499.
Amazon isn’t the first company to employ parody advertising against Apple. Samsung has been using a similar strategy to contrast its Galaxy S smartphones with the iPhone, and those ads seem to have worked for the South Korean company. Microsoft has taken a similar approach to promote the Microsoft Surface tablet, but those ads don’t appear to have worked as well as Samsung’s.
Besides promoting the 8.9-inch Kindle Fire HDX, Amazon is discounting the 7-inch Kindle Fire HDX for Cyber Monday. The tablet, normally available starting at $229, is on sale for $179.
Amazon also discounted the Kindle Fire HD to $119 from $169 , but that sale already has sold out.
Los Angeles Times
(c)2013 the Los Angeles Times
