Samsung mocks Apple lawsuit in SuperBowl teaser ad

But who besides insiders will get the joke?

Video Samsung has released a star-studded teaser video for its ad that will run during this Sunday's SuperBowl "El Plato Supremé", a clip that mocks patent and copyright litigation – and, by extension, its long-running adversary, Apple.

In the video, funnymen Bob Odenkirk, Seth Rogen, and Paul Rudd are seen discussing ad ideas for Samsung's upcoming ad for the National Football League's championship game.

Odenkirk, playing an ad exec reminiscent of his role as lawyer Saul Goodman in AMC's Breaking Bad, seeks ideas from Rogen and Rudd. Unfortunately, due to the NFL's draconian copyright protection of the term "SuperBowl", that word can't be used.

"We could get sued," Odenkirk explains, so the three end up calling the SuperBowl "El Plato Supremé", the San Francisco 49ers the "Fifty-minus-one-ers", and the Baltimore Ravens the "Black Birds".

While the teaser video never mentions Apple, its focus on the silliness of copyright protection will surely tickle those watchers who know of the ongoing tiff between Cupertino and the Korean consumer-electronics giant, one which has involved such equally risible bones of contention as "square icons with rounded corners."

But that message will sail far over the head of the average NFL fan, The Reg avers, although the video does burnish Samsung's image with a witty, underdog patina.

When Samsung does aim directly at Apple in its ads, it can be scathing. In November 2011, for example, it ran a TV ad in which it mocked Apple fanbois waiting in line for the iPhone 4S, only to be mesmerized by the Samsung smartphones fondled by a pair of überstylish youth.

That ad included a snippet of memorable dialog between two fanbois. When the first smugly sighed, "I could never get a Samsung. I'm creative," the second retorted, "Dude, you're a barista."

That dig was less subtle and more pointed than obscure copyright litigation references, but before we judge Samsung's jugular-aiming chops, we'll wait to see what they air during this Sunday's advertising-orgy-cum-football-game. ®