Brand Mashup: HP's Halo and Frito-Lay's Tostitos
Judging from the writing, acting, editing, lighting and sound qualities from the b-roll of this promotional video (not to mention a culturally tone-deaf slogan: "Important face-to-face meetings for CEOs may never require the use of a jet again!") it seems like HP (2005 revenue: $87 Billion) must have blown all of its marketing dollars on lunches with DreamWorks underlings and advertising Halo in the Robb Report. Below check out a two minute Halo promo of a videoconference meeting among the cubicle class (who must have liquidated their personal jets after the dot-com crash) who have to resort to grabbing a bag of Tostitos from the HP company cafeteria to use as a stage prop and point to it and say "you can see how the product can be used in different ways." And the award for the "Best Portrayal Of A Brand Manager In A Promotional Video With No Budget" goes to...
It's tough to pick a winner with such a stellar cast, such as the "I've Got A Hot Date Tonight" woman (at 32 seconds, see clock-time directly under video frame), the "Corporate Yes Man" (at 42 seconds), the "I Love My Badge" guy (at 1:34). And let's not leave out the supporting cast, including "Casual Friday Guy" in those really cool yellow pants (at 1:54).
While our post-punk sartorial sensibilities lean to the Casual Friday Guy, we think the winner should be the "Get Me Outta Here" bald guy in the blue shirt who, at precisely 50 seconds into this video, blinks ever so lightly and quizzically after hearing the statement that Tostitos "can be used in different ways." We're with ya, buddy. Nice acting job. A wonderful performance that drew us in. You can feel this HP guy thinking, what's more insane, using Tostitos in different ways or HP using this video to promote Halo?
March 24, 2006