PSY GIVES ANDROID A TIMELY BOOST

Google Chairman Eric Schmidt, who’s in South Korea to meet execs from Samsung, LG and Pantech, the biggest Android manufacturers, got a dance lesson from PSY this morning. Their meeting was appropriate given that “Gangnam Style” sprang straight out of YouTube to become a massive international hit.

According to the Wall Street Journal, PSY (or Park Jae-sang, as his parents called him) showed up at Google’s Seoul offices as Schmidt was conducting an all-hands videoconference for employees in Asia. Screams and cheers were heard on the speakers as Google employees reacted to his arrival. After the two discussed the viral effect of the “Gangnam Style” video, Schmidt attempted to follow along as PSY showed him his now-famous dance. (See photo in 1rumor Mill.) Google’s offices are in the heart of Gangnam, by the way.

As of today, the “Gangnam Style” video is at 291 million views on YouTube since PSY uploaded it in mid-July. He returned to South Korea earlier this week after a whirlwind U.S. promo tour in which he must’ve hit every network morning and talk show.

At a news conference before their meeting, Schmidt described how PSY’s success is an example of how YouTube is being used for more than just young musicians who are trying to break into the business.

“With K-pop, we had a whole industry of extraordinarily high-quality music that was largely not available outside of Japan and Korea and a couple other countries. YouTube made it mainstream and global,” he said. “I think there will be many other such breakouts and such great talents. I think the story here is not really about YouTube or Google. It’s about the fact that there is amazing talent all around the world that could not be discovered before and that now has a global audience, which the talent can benefit from financially, with recognition, lifestyle etc.”

Reporters pressed Schmidt to disclose his plans to meet with South Korea’s cellphone manufacturers. Samsung, by far the biggest Android maker, has been a chief target of Apple’s litigation contending that Android violates some of its smartphone and tablet patents. “I’m meeting with all of the key vendors, along with Andy, for all the obvious reasons,” Schmidt said, referring to Andy Rubin, chief developer for Android, who was also visiting Seoul.

Meanwhile, back in the States, Samsung got ahead of the iPhone 5 launch with a TV spot spoofing Apple users who planned to wait hours in line for a phone that lacked some features of the new Galaxy S III. The ad, with the tagline “The Next Big Thing Is Already Here,” riffs on Apple’s classic “Mac vs. PC” campaign—but this time it’s Apple being mocked as the entrenched and uncool colossus, notes Claire Atkinson in the N.Y. Post.

The irreverent spot, created by L.A. ad agency 72 and Sunny, has racked up 17 million views on YouTube since its release a week ago and is generating 1.5 million to 2 million new views a day. In contrast, Apple’s four TV spots for the iPhone 5 have drawn fewer than 5 million views collectively.

“It delivers line after line of cutting dialogue, pointing out the foibles of Apple fanaticism, makes a number of knowing inside references ... and lowers the boom by calling into question Apple’s ‘coolness’ factor by mixing in a couple of decidedly non-hip baby-boomers clamoring for the new iPhone,” Art Zeidman, who heads social video ad firm Unruly, told Atkinson.

Zeidman noted that the timing of the ad helped it succeed as it began airing when lines started forming at the Apple stores ahead of the iPhone 5 launch.

“It is unprecedented, I’ve never seen anything like this,” Samsung Mobile Chief Marketing Officer Todd Pendleton, told the Post, adding, “I worked at Nike before.”

The Galaxy S III is expected to hit 30 million in worldwide sales by year’s end. Apple is expected to ship 25 million iPhone 5s in the quarter ending this month.