Hewlett Packard Enterprise Wants to Help You Tame the IT Monster

The complexities of modern information technology (IT) can make it seem like something of a monster, which is precisely how Publicis New York personifies IT in a new campaign for Hewlett Packard Enterprise.
A 30-second spot opens with a voiceover explaining, “IT can grow out of control: disrupting business, taking on a life of its own,” as a friendly-looking but gigantic red monster seems to unintentionally wreck havoc. These problems, the voiceover continues, can create friction and slow innovation, as the company in the spot seems to struggle with some sizable IT issues.
Of course, the spot concludes by presenting HPE as the solution to tame the monster (with its OneView and OneSphere products), which appears to disappear in a cloud of green smoke. It’s kind of hard not to feel bad for the poor thing as its fur gets cleaned off the floor.
The character’s bumbling destruction is not a bad metaphor for the complexities of IT. In some ways the approach is reminiscent of BBDO New York’s personification of a “scary idea” in its 2014 “Ideas Are Scary” spot for G.E., although it trades in that ugly duckling transformation ending for a “taming” of I.T. that appears a bit more explosive than we anticipated.
“At HPE, we obsessively focus on identifying and resolving our customers’ challenges. It’s our reason for being. And, what better way to bring to life one of the industry’s monster problems than with a literal monster,” HPE global head of brand experience Marissa Freeman said in a statement. ” … We believe our customers will not only relate, but smile.”
“Tech problems are often massive, almost inexpressible and monstrous in scope. We took that simple idea and crafted it into a big smart, creative visual,” Publicis New York CCO Andy Bird said in a statement. “The red monster simply conveys the scale of the issue and just how quickly HPE provides a solution.”
The global, digitally led campaign will run in the U.S., U.K. Germany, France and Japan. Ads will run on broadcast as well as online, and the campaign also includes digital display, OOH, social media, events and search elements.
CREDITS
Client: HPE
Campaign Title: TAME I.T.
Agency: Publicis North America
Agency Location: New York
Chief Creative Officer: Andy Bird
Executive Creative Director/s: Matt McKay
Creative Director/s: Carlos Perez, Justin Via
Associate Creative Director: Jake Blumenau
Associate Creative Director: Roe Laophermsook
Art Director: Dudu Gomes
Art Director: MK Kim
Writer: Chris Wilson
Designer: Halli Rosen
Executive Producer, Broadcast: Lauren Schneidmuller
Music Producer: Rachel Rauch
Business Manager: Deanna Gattie
Executive Producer, Integrated: Kathleen Bennett
Global Client Officer: Scott Herring
SVP Group Account Director: Bella Curtis
SVP Strategy Director: Jeff Koss
Account Director: Matt Bloem
Account Supervisor: Mike Brokamp
Account Executive: Sam Sykes
Production Company: Imperial Woodpecker
Director: Simon McQuoid
Executive Producer: Charlie Cocuzza
Producer: Anita Wetterstedt
Editorial Company: MACKCUT
Editor: Ian Mackenzie
Assistant Editor: Gustavo Roman
Executive Producer: Gina Pagano
VFX: The Mill
Production-
Executive Producer: Melanie Wickham
Producer: Bugs Russell
Production Coordinator: Samuel Centore
Creative-
Shoot Supervisor: Tony Robins
2D Lead Artist: Jimmy Bullard
3D Lead Artist: Christian Nielsen
2D Artists: Heather Kennedy, Jamie Scott, Molly Intersimone, Ting Jung-Hsu, Andre Vidal, Eric Sibley, Ari Garber, Kieran Hanrahan, Yongjae Lee, Akshay Jain, Arijit Ghosh, Badrinath Chinimilli, Jyoti Tiwari, Nithin Babu
3D Artist: Seon Crawford, Shawn Lipowski, Billy Jang, Incheol Jeong, Constance Bensen, Chris Hill, Dave Barosin, Jackie Liao, Navdeep Singh, Bijo Joy, Fazal Khan, Gokul Navaneethan, Manoj Ravi, Spandana Battula, Tarun Kumar
Matte Painting: Charles Lee
Design: Adam Pearlman, Kyle Leicht
VFX Colour: The Mill
Colourist: Fergus McCall
Executive Producer, Colour: Rochelle Brown
Colour Producer: Evan Bauer
Sound & Sound Design: Heard City
Engineer: Evan Mangiamele
Executive Producer: Sasha Awn