Ad of the Day: This Lovely HP Commercial Has the Year’s Most Perfect Soundtrack

See Jane fret. And struggle. And begin to lose focus and confidence. As she rises through the professional ranks, she loses touch with her childlike creative side and becomes stuck in a workaday rut.

That's the setup for 180LA's and director Lance Acord's lovely 60-second film "Jane," which ushers in a new campaign called "Go Make Things" for the Sprout by HP all-in-one desktop platform. (This is also the first major creative initiative since former Visa executive Antonio Lucio joined HP's Personal Systems Group in May as chief marketing and communications officer.)

Early scenes show our heroine as an imaginative youngster. She draws designs on dolls' faces, plays outside while wearing a fanciful butterfly headdress and dons an active volcano costume for science class. As time goes by, however—through college and beyond—her spirit gets worn down by the white-collar grind, and she grows listless and uninspired.

Jane's spark is reignited when her young daughter draws on a doll's face—and the two begin various projects on Sprout, such as creating a butterfly headband using the system's 3-D scanning capabilities.

The writing is strong. The vintage scenes are convincing. And the soundtrack, a cover of Supertramp's "The Logical Song," is an inspired choice. It fits the scenario to a T, with its lyrics contrasting the "clinical, intellectual, cynical" grown-up world with a simpler time when "it seemed that life was so wonderful, a miracle … beautiful, magical." The words are even more poignant here, as they are sung, in direct and affecting fashion, by a children's choir from the Silverlake Conservatory of Music in Los Angeles. (Check out the behind-the-scenes clip below for more on that.)

Overall, the ad does a fine job of conveying Jane's youthful elation and adult frustration without laying it on too thick. There's a lot going on in the relatively short spot, but the pacing is perfect, and the strong visual storytelling builds to a satisfying conclusion.

For an overstressed creative audience—grinding out PowerPoint presentations when they yearn to create artistic masterpieces (or at least better corporate materials)—the scenario is extremely relatable. Plus, the product isn't oversold. We're shown a few things it can do, watch it improve an important aspect of one person's life, and we're out. Awesome!

Most important, we do believe that Sprout by HP helps Jane see things in a new light, and can perhaps do the same for us.

CREDITS

Client: HP and Intel

Campaign: Spout by HP

Length :30, :60

Spot: "Jane"

Client Credits: HP

Chief Marketing Officer: Antonio Lucio

Vice President, PPS Worldwide Marketing, Consumer PC : Vikrant Batra

Worldwide Communications Director: Matt Cowling

Worldwide Marketing, Creative Sprout: John Randazzo

Product Marketing Manager, Immersive Computing: Stephen Miller

Client Credits: Intel

Chief Marketing Officer: Steve Fund

Vice President, Global Creative Director: Teresa Herd

Marketing Director: Cassio Tiete

Senior Marketing Manager: Elizabeth Lin

Agency: 180LA

Chief Creative Officer: William Gelner

Creative Director, Copywriter: Zac Ryder

Creative Director, Art Director: Adam Groves

Head of Production: Natasha Wellesley

Executive Producer: Erin Goodsell

President, Global Chief Executive Officer: Mike Allen

Account Director: Mike Slatkin

Account Managers: Danielle Tisser, Nicole Stokman

Chief Strategy Officer: Mike Harris

Head of Strategy: Jason Knight

Planning Director: Anne Heuer

Planner: Andrew Zakim

Business Affairs: Loretta Zolliecoffer

Production Company: Park Pictures

Director, Director of Photography: Lance Acord

Executive Producer: Jackie Kelman Bisbee

Executive Producer: Mary Ann Marino

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