A change of pace from all that Apple talk. HP has been kind enough to deliver a juicy, brand-new topic into our hands. They’ve launched a new campaign with the theme Let’s do amazing.
Before I say anything, my standard disclaimer: creating great campaigns for big technology companies is not easy. In certain ways, it’s nearly impossible. None of us could produce a new HP campaign without taking shots from fellow creatives and Monday-morning strategists. So let’s be gracious and give the boys at 72andSunny some credit for what is obviously a lot of work. And then let’s pounce like wild hyenas.
First question: 72andSunny? What the hell ever happened to Goodby? Apparently, HP opened this one up to pitches and agency 72andSunny won the prize. That’s the way Goodby was rewarded for all the good work they’ve done (they’re still handling other projects for HP). I’m continually amazed by the way some clients treat their agencies. This really isn’t difficult. If you see your agency as a valuable partner, you give them the work; if you don’t, you fire their butts. It’s this twilight zone that wrecks relationships in the end.
Now, about the campaign itself. To me, it always boils down to the same thing: authenticity. In this case, I have to ask: is Let’s do amazing at all believable for HP? Does New Zealander Rhys Darby feel authentic as the personification of HP’s personality?
Unfortunately, the answer to both is no. This campaign is a perfect example of an agency fabrication. What HP does today is exactly what they did last week. One day they were “making the personal computer personal again,” the next they were “doing amazing.” There is no big new product line, no new company management, no new philosophy, nothing different at all. They are simply amazing. Groundless marketing like this is the reason most people think advertising is shallow.
I’m actually a fan of spokeperson Rhys Darby. I find him to be intelligent, curious, likable and funny. It’s just that from the start, you wonder why this guy is speaking for HP. He feels like a hired gun, and hardly a genuine reflection of HP’s corporate character. I’m entertained by Rhys, but I quickly realize I’m falling for the Gloss Effect. That’s what happens when you stack a completely unrelated layer atop a bad commercial so people might actually watch it. Kind of like Charles Schwab layering a cartoon effect over terribly boring real-person testimonials to make them watchable.
HP should really give thanks to New Zealand for this, because it’s probably the accent that makes much of this funny. Still, there are quite a few “not funny enough” moments that even Rhys’ peculiarities can’t pull off. More important, we never get any real sense of what is so amazing about HP — other than the fact that they want us to think they’re amazing.
Just as a movie must create a believable world for an audience to connect, so must an an ad campaign. HP has simply hired a comedian to tour the world and show us the big companies and easily hired celebrities who are using HP technology. The “shtick” turns out to be way too similar from place to place: people seem far more amazed that Rhys is coming to visit than they are about HP’s technology.
Exactly the way I feel.
Very curious to hear what you guys think…
(Some links if you’re interested: Dr. Dre ad, UPS ad, Rhys Darby interview about this campaign, and HP marketing chief talking about this work.)
Tags: hp amazing, hp rhys darby, ken segall, rhys darby
