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Small is not for all: Derek Zoolander embraces the Samsung Galaxy (S6)
August 23, 2025
For anyone who has seen the 2001 movieZoolander, there is one particular part that rang true to the hearts of phone-ees: Derek Zoolander, portrayed by Ben Stiller, had an impossibly small mobile. Resembling a miniature Motorola Star-Tac, the fabulous flip phone was just one of the plethora of gags and jokes that littered the movie. Times, however, have changed, and so too have Derek Zoolander’s tastes:
The above poster, teasing the United Kingdom release of the movie, has both Derek and his rival/friend Hansel (portrayed by Owen Wilson) staring into their souls, as mirrored back at them via selfies. Of course the bigger surprise iswhatthey are holding: the Samsung Galaxy S6.
A sign of the times
e2Save Mobiles
Indeed if one thinks back to 2001, concepts of selfies and even smartphones were non-existent. Inthosedays, people who took pictures of themselves were typically labeled as vain (I’d like to say I took selfies before they caught on), all the more so given that basically all phones – save for those sold in Japan – only had rear cameras, if that. Selfies have since gone on to become such a craze that not only are there accessories to facilitate taking them, butalsoan entire spin-off, referred to asbelfies.
Likewise, at the turn of the century, everything mobile was about miniaturization.Zoolanderitself was making an almost meta statement about how en vogue the trend was. Ironically,thesedays phones under 5-inches are now labeled as “Mini”, something that would be unthinkable even a few years ago, when the average display was around 3.5 or 4-inches.
Oh, and just for reference, while theZoolanderphone was never actually manufactured, there is at least one micro-mobile thatdidcome to market:
Samsung Showcase
Perhaps the larger issue here is just how eager Samsung is to plant produce placement in movies.The Vergepoints out that the Samsung logo in the promo picture isn’t prominently visible, something that could be a result of the camera angle, or perhaps the fact that no licensing agreement is in place at the moment. Were the latter true however, it would seemingly be prudent for Paramount Pictures, the studio behind the film, to remove the logo entirely, or just use a generic product so as to avoid potential legal problems.
Big Money and Marketing
One need not even go into the madness that exists in Japan, where each major carrier actually has phones branded as “Disney Mobile.” In fact, the LG G4 didn’t release here at all, but itdidrelease a lower powered, re-branded and remodeled variant which ismarching proud with Mickey Mouse:
This is in addition to other marketing tie-ups, includingone from Sharpfeaturing Neon Genesis Evangelion, and others with Sony andHatsune Mikku.
Suffice to say, Derek and Hansel’s latest vie for vanity is certainly a fair talking point. In just one self-centered selfie, the moralistic models have spoken volumes about not only the changes in the mobile industry over the years, but also the marketing money that makes movies. It’s brilliant really, as one of the main points of modeling is to let the photographs speak for themselves.
One might even get a bit moremetaand say that mobiles themselves have become models as companies like Samsung have finally made the bold decision to focus on looks over functionality, at least by some critics’ standards. This year’s flagships in particular have come under great scrutiny given their forgoing a removable battery and support for microSD.
Still, now that we known Zoolander isn’t afraid to get a Galaxy, can we expect a special edition next year from Samsung? Or, perhaps even more relevant: will the male model havea new poseto promote it?
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