Ad of the Day: HP TouchPad

Meet Russell Brand’s “robot butler.” That’s what the comedian, actor, singer — and now pitchman for HP tablets — calls his TouchPad gadget in this new spot from Goodby Silverstein & Partners. Commercials for competitors’ tablets, like Apple’s iPad and Samsung’s Galaxy, have tended to rely heavily on visuals of the devices in use, and HP doesn’t deviate so far from that here. The brand does try though, with some success, to inject humor into what still looks like a product demo, a not-so-riveting genre now that footage of tablets’ more generic functions (e.g. touch screens) has lost its novelty. And while the spot seems to frame the TouchPad’s universal search feature — which rapidly displays returns from the device, web, and applications — as what sets it apart, that point doesn’t cut through all that clearly. Brand, meanwhile, offers up some mildly amusing moments, playing both the diva and the “digital manservant.” He also, apparently, has some sort of weird superhuman x-ray vision, demonstrating a unique ability to see through the back of the device well enough to navigate the front, without looking at it. Then there's the ostrich: it's goofy, but what the heck is one is doing in his glitzy apartment. Was it an impulse buy? A leftover party prank? A wayward squatter? And how, exactly, does Brand expect his inanimate tech toy to give the bird the boot? Ultimately, a string of promos that feature Brand riffing on the TouchPad’s features is more entertaining than the TV commercial. But even those prompted some backlash from the tech world, suggesting that HP should focus more on making a better device, and less on hiring celebrity salesmen. [jwplayer 2QTrNMh2-1kT9Z8rj] CREDITS Agency - Goodby, Silverstein & Partners CD/Co Chairman - Rich Silverstein ECD/Associate Partner – Christian Haas Associate Creative Director – Will Elliot Associate Creative Director – Mark Sikes Copywriter – Mitch Gage Art Director – Kristin Graham Director of Broadcast Production/ Assoc. Partner – Cindy Fluitt Executive Producer – Cat Reynolds Producer – Sara Krider World Wide Group Account Director – John Coyne Account Director – Amit Singh Account Manager – Philippa Cambell Assistant Account Manager – Kerissa Chan Production Company – Harvest Director – Baker Smith Executive Producer – Bonnie Goldfarb Head of Production – Rob Sexton DP – John Perez Production Designer – Charles Infante Costume Designer - N/A Line Producer - Mala Vasan Editorial Company – Arcade Editor – Christjan Jordan Executive Producer- Deanne Mehling Producer – Amburr Farls Assistant Editors - Andrew Leggett, Pete D’Andrea, Hilary Ruggiano Color – Airship Colorist - Shane Reed Producer – Sascha Flick Music Company – APM Post Production/VFX Company – The Mill Executive Producer - Sue Troyan VFX Producer - Sabrina Elizondo VFX Supervisors – Becky Porter, Phil Crowe Lead Nuke – Becky Porter Lead Flame Russell - Sarah Eim Lead Flame Manny TP - Wayne Shepherd Lead Flame Lea Michelle - Tim Bird Nuke Artists - Brendan Smith, Nick Taylor, Daniel Lang 2D artists - Narbeh Mardirossan AE Leads - Tom O’Neil, Brian Hayes 3D Lead - Adam Carroll Recording Studio – 740 Sound Mixer – Eric Ryan End Tag Design & Animation Executive Producer - Damon Meena Executive Creative Director - James Price Associate Creative Director - Aaron Baumle Producer - Corrine Liebe Designers - Manny Palad, Craig Hubbard, Alex Davidson Animators - Craig Hubbard, Patrick Kim, Eddie Watkinson, Manny Palad, Jamie Rockaway

Brand Marketing

Ad of the Day: HP TouchPad

Russell Brand peddles robot butlers

Gabriel Beltrone

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Gabriel Beltrone