When the world feels like it continues to break apart, day by day, some brands find spreading positive messages of unity and family can brighten the mood. This holiday season, HP has released two equally touching films created to celebrate what brings people together–not what tears them apart.
“We want HP to be a brand that stands the test of time,” Antonio Lucio, CMO of HP, said. To do that, Lucio noted that a brand needs to accomplish five things. They need to be “deeply anchored in purpose. They [need to] have a true and meaningful impact on people’s lives. They [need to be] built on very strong, emotional connections. They [need to] behave with integrity and they [should] always be reinventing themselves to deliver that purpose,” he said.
With that in mind, HP created two films that are deeply rooted in emotion and holiday cheer.
The first film, “Togetherness,” focuses on a family coming together to celebrate the holidays over a nice meal. As you might expect, tensions begin to run high at the table.
HP is able to almost seamlessly integrate its product into the ad (created by Zac & Adam) and still keep the message feeling sentimental and sweet. It also intentionally touches on some very real political divisions in the country right now.
“We wanted to understand this division in the world, this polarization of opinion, this level of information that different countries including the United States are going through,” Lucio said. Following Brexit and the presidential election, HP conducted research, looking to find out what truly divided red and blue states.
“The most important thing was, what are the commonalities? What are those human values that, regardless of our differences, unite us all? One of them was we want to make a life better for our children,” he said.
That insight helped inform the brand on “Reinventing Giving,” a film by BBDO San Francisco. It has an equally touching message, this time focusing on how future generations view technology and creation.
“The new millennial consumer is getting a little tried of this algorithm-based life. They are craving a sense of wonder. They actually want to create a sense of wonder in their life,” Lucio said.
Keeping up with the brand mission to focus on diversity and inclusion, HP worked with Free the Bid (a nonprofit aimed at getting more female directors working on ads) to select directors for each film. Sara Dunlop directed “Reinvent Giving” and Lisa Rubisch directed “Togetherness.”
HP puts 73 percent of its marketing budget into digital, so both spots will roll out online in the coming weeks. The ads are meant to be “experienced through the digital ecosystem in social, in video banners, as well as the utilization of search,” according to Lucio.
