Intel Intros ‘Sponsors of Tomorrow’

The chip maker said the new multimedia push is its largest since "Multiply," which launched in September 2006 touting the introduction of the Intel Core 2 Duo.

"Sponsors of Tomorrow," however, is geared to last for three to five years and serve as an overarching theme for all of the company's branding efforts.

Intel's worldwide ad spending was not disclosed — but the company said in January that its overall global marketing budget for 2009 would not be dramatically different than the $300 million it spent last year. (That figure includes all communications and marketing expenditures, not just ad placements.)

In terms of ads, Intel spent $25 million in U.S. major measured media last year — down from $65 million in '07 and about $55 million in '06. In those last two years, "Multiply" ran in heavy rotation in multiple media.

The work shines a spotlight on San Francisco independent Venables Bell & Partners, which added the creative assignment for Intel's master-brand assignment in January. Omnicom's OMD handles media chores.

The broader goal of the new work is to cast Intel as more than just a producer of microprocessors, but as a company that helps empower society and move it forward.

Rather than traffic in techno-speak or graphics taking viewers inside computers (like Intel's famous ads a generation ago), the new work puts the human elements front and center.

Some elements seek to make heroes of a group of engineers (portrayed by actors), who are essentially cast as modern-day "rock stars" driving our culture forward. All of the work seeks to link Intel's technological prowess to everyday life.