Tech firms are notoriously petty - and never more so than when one of their rivals has something big going down.
There's always a way to steal the thunder, but that doesn't mean you should. Here are five playground tactics that made us think less of our tech overlords:
1. Nokia dressed up as astronauts at Samsung's Terminal 5 takeover
You could not make this stuff up. Samsung sponsored Heathrow's Terminal 5 for a while in 2014 - it basically meant that there were adverts for the Samsung Galaxy Terminal 5 (geddit) in every direction, begging for attention while you sipped a gin and tonic at Giraffe before getting on your flight.
Nokia, then under the Microsoft Devices umbrella, decided that the best thing to do would be dress some out of work actors as astronauts and send them looking for a flight out of the galaxy - see what they did there? No one bought a phone as a result of either party's action.
2. Beats crashed the Olympics with Union Jack headphones
The London 2012 Olympics may have been a triumph for sporting endeavours, East London and fans of emotional montages everywhere, but there were strict rules in place to stop any brand who hadn't coughed up sponsorship money from cashing in on the Olympic endorsement.
That didn't stop Dr Dre, however, who we assume personally masterminded the sending of Union Jack Beats headphones to Team GB before sitting back and watching the sort-of-sponsored sort-of-not social media posts roll in.
3. Apple repeatedly undermined all other tech events with minor news of its own
Apple is the grand master of the Dick Move, repeatedly eschewing tech shows like CES, MWC and IFA but messing them up by announcing minor product updates, WWDC dates and software releases just as they're hitting their stride.
Annoying for brands, yes, but more annoying for your poor, faithful technology journalists who just want to get home to see their families but are stuck writing 10 Things The iOS 8.3.4.2.1 Release Means For Your iPad 2 until the wee small hours after a full day of shovelling press releases into Trash. Might as well be down the mines, amirite?
4. BlackBerry parked a 'Wake Up' coach outside an Apple Store
Someone somewhere hired an external agency to park a huge coach that said "Wake Up" on its side to "wake" the iSheeple "up". After everyone on the internet muttered "er, desperate much?" in Samsung's direction, Samsung Australia released a statement saying that it had "nothing to do with the Wake-Up Campaign " and RIM (now BlackBerry) was forced to own up to the whole thing.
5. Samsung announced its new round-faced smartwatch on Apple Watch release day
It can't have escaped your notice that the Apple Watch went on sale today - it certainly didn't escape Samsung's. In a plan you just know has been in the works since before the release date was announced, the Korean company chose today, April 24, Apple Watch Day, to tease a new round-faced Galaxy Gear.
If this has changed your mind about opting for the Apple Watch over a Gear, please write in to the usual address.
