After HP’s “you blog” ad attracted enough attention a couple days ago, I thought it appropriate to add a little more context, so no one thinks the campaign is entirely blog-focused. That ad just happened to catch my attention (and interest) because of its subject matter. As others pointed out in the comments for that entry, this could have been part of the ad agency’s intent. But I actually think whoever thought of the blog ad might just be trying to capitalize on a rapidly rising trend before anyone else does.
A few of the ads surrounding the “you blog” ad include these. They represent a small portion of the range of this campaign, but are also the most similar to the “you blog” version. Other ads focus on telling stories, light-weight printers, peripherals, and the concept of color or black and white as art. Some are much larger (the ones I’ve shown are maybe 5-feet by 4-feet), some are tacked down to the floor at the bottom of escalators, some are back-lit, others are wrapped around 14-foot columns. Note that none of the ads I’m showing provide any literal reference at all to HP. They rely on the viewer connecting the messages with other branded ads placed nearby.
Seeing more of the ads that are part of this campaign helps paint a better picture of what HP is trying to communicate. Taking the blog ad out of context is easy to do if it’s the only one you’ve seen from the campaign. Regardless of what people say about the blog ad, I find HP’s tack with the current campaign very interesting. With $300 million backing this ad campaign, I’m sure many of you will start seeing more effects of it soon.
Posted in Ephemera, Technology
11 comments (Comments closed)
I’ve been very impressed lately with HP’s print ads and TV commercials. I thought it was pretty neat that they used a song by The Cure for one of their HP photography commercials.
I’m always in awe of companies that are daring enough to fund an ad campaign without their company name or logo smashed all over it.That takes some serious corporate balls.
These ads usually generate enough consumer interest to want to “solve” the mystery of what company is running the ads and what story or message is being told with the ads - a link, if you will, between the ads and the product(s). These ads almost become interactive in the demands it makes for the consumer to piece it all together.
i despise it when companies blatantly pull the nostalgia strings with music from the current generation’s collective childhood or adolescence. plus, the cure revival is so 3 years ago…
i despise it when companies blatantly pull the nostalgia strings with music from the current generation’s collective childhood or adolescence.
Why’s that? Do you feel like the companies are pandering to the consumers? I dunno. I can think of many advertising techniques that I’d consider to be worse than something as inoccuous as using nostalgia-inducing music in a TV commercial.
plus, the cure revival is so 3 years ago…
Was it? I wouldn’t know- I was introduced to their music by a friend a little less than a year ago. :)
It’s all about lifestyle and building brand. We have a campaign in the uk on tv for a pensions company that the describes all the quirky things that the character in the ad likes to do. I think it’s aimed at mid 30 years olds and you can’t help but associate yourself with some of things mentioned thus associating yourself with the product. Acutally the things mentioned are very similar to hp one. It’s all about brand - if it’s cool it doesn’t matter what the product is!
So looking at this new perspective and my previous comment, I’ve come to the conclusion that HP is without question testing the blog waters very intentionally and very skillfully. Blogging is so new and so specific right now; it’s on the verge of mainstream but not quite there yet. Yet. So HP couldn’t focus on blogging too much due to that lack of term recognition and due to the critical/cynical blogger yet they bring up the topic, they put it out there (even if only slightly).
But stepping back for a moment, take a look at digital photography itself. As I see it there are three main uses for a digital photo: #1 print it #2 email it and #3 stick it on the web. HP is in there with #1 and #2 is covered thoroughly everywhere. If you can capitalize on #3 in a manner that non-webmasters can find welcoming, if you can associate your brand with this new powerful medium, you can sell a lot of digital cameras.
When blogging is mentioned notice also what’s not being said, HP is not saying “You have a website”, it’s saying “You blog” and that distinction is as important as it is deliberate.
One image on one wall in a larger grouping of images pointing to one brand and one underling theme of expression is no accident and certainly not meant to be disregarded. The TV spot doesn’t mention blogging and that’s not the immediate focus of the campaign, but the fact that it’s interwoven into the $300m fabric at all is telling. It’s the third step that many people don’t know they will be taking, yet.
Interesting - there has been very little mentioned of the HP / Compaq merger in New Zealand, let alone any splashing of ads anywhere. Makes me wonder if any of that $300 million is going to touch the shores here. I’ll let you know if it does - until then we are still being sold the same products with little to no public advertising…I feel left out :(
Only problem with The Cure song is that it’s really a song about someone who is dead. But I guess HP is counting on most folks missing that.
i despise it when companies blatantly pull the nostalgia strings with music from the current generation’s collective childhood or adolescence. plus, the cure revival is so 3 years ago… Yes, I don’t likt it.
It’s too bad that the song they chose is about how this guy’s girlfriend broke up with him and all he has are these pictures, and he’s sitting around being depressed and missing her.
I guess I should read previous comments first, huh. In any case, that’s a really super depressing song, kind of like all the cure songs. But if other companies can use songs about drugs, I guess HP can use one about a dead girl and a sad guy.
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