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Your turn, Samsung – Mr Sato returns the Ice Bucket Challenge to Korea’s electronics giant【Video】

ロケットニュース24 Aug 28, 2014
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The ALS Ice Bucket Challenge is still going strong, thanks to its mix of suspense, physical comedy, and contributions for a worthy cause. Business and entertainment moguls from around the world have participated, and recently even inanimate objects have started taking part with Samsung’s Galaxy S5 smartphone being doused by the Korean conglomerate’s U.K. division.

As per the rules of the challenge, Samsung then exercised its right to pass the dare onto someone else, and it designated rival Apple’s iPhone 5s. A quick comparison of the spec sheets for the two competing phones has some people crying foul at singling out the iPhone 5s, though. Today, we’re offering Samsung a chance to make things right.

See, there’s a key difference between the Galaxy S5 and the iPhone 5s, which is that the former is waterproof, and the latter isn’t. The comedic potential of the Ice Bucket Challenge is that it makes human participants uncomfortable without killing them, but you wouldn’t be able to say the same with the Apple model called out by Samsung. Since the deluge would likely destroy the phone, Samsung’s actions are a bit like daring someone to dump a bucket of fire over his head instead of one filled with ice water.

▼ If “bucket of fire” is too hard to imagine, then just think of a container of poisonous spiders.

Some have accused the Korean manufacturer of shamelessly taking advantage of the charity challenge for no reason other than to publicly reiterate the fact that the Galaxy S5 is waterproof, and that the iPhone 5s isn’t (and, for the record, Sony has been doing waterproof smartphones a lot longer). There’s at least one man who still has faith in Samsung, though, and that’s our Japanese-language correspondent Mr. Sato.

▼ Seen on the right, wearing the alternate version of the RocketNews24 summer uniform.

“They’d never do something that low!” he insists, springing to the defense of his beloved Samsung. “They just nominated the iPhone because it’s famous! If I challenged a non-waterproof Samsung product, they’d definitely accept!”

Of course, the only way to earn the right to designate the next Ice Bucket Challenge participant is to go through it yourself. So we took Mr. Sato, plus his personal (and waterproof) Samsung tablet to the nearest park, so he could bravely do what needed to be done.

Now Mr. Soaked Sato, he’s thrown down the gauntlet, nominating Samsung’s equally non-waterproof Galaxy Tab S for the challenge. We’re willing to accept satisfaction from any of Samsung’s many worldwide divisions, which is why in addition to verbally designating the Galaxy Tab S, we also put it in English.

The bucket’s in your court, Samsung.

Lest, in the process of making this a fair corporate fight, we forget that the Ice Bucket Challenge is really all about charity and giving, here are a few causes, the ALS Association included, that those of you taking part in the challenge may wish to donate to. Stay frosty, ice-dumpers!

ALS Association / Japan Red Cross Society / Cancer Research UK / (RED)
Global Giving / Save the Children / World Vision / WWF

Top image: RocketNews24
Insert images: Wikimedia/Viajar24H, RocketNews24
[ Read in Japanese ]