Irvine-based Toshiba America Information Systems Inc. has added Hollywood heavyweights to its partnership with one of Silicon Valley’s biggest names for a back-to-school marketing campaign that aims to breath new life into its lines of laptop computers.
“The Power Inside” is an interactive sci-fi comedy. It marks the third-straight year that the U.S. marketing arm of the Japan-based company’s consumer electronics brand has collaborated with Intel Corp. to cross-promote their products through social media and other digital channels.
This time around, they’ve brought in actor Harvey Keitel and others from Hollywood in hopes of exceeding last year’s global viewership of 70 million.
The star-infused effort reflects commitments made by Hisao Tanaka, chief executive of TAIS’ parent company, Toshiba Corp. in Japan.
Tanaka recently said he believes it is possible for Toshiba to return to its former glory as the leader of the laptop market instead of pulling the plug on the Japanese company’s unprofitable personal computer operations.
“The Power Inside,” created in a genre dubbed “social film,” is presented in a series of six weekly episodes, each five to seven minutes in length. The first aired on YouTube on Aug. 15, amassing 661,556 views within six days.
Aliens
Last year’s show, “The Beauty Inside,” was a romantic comedy. The Power Inside has a different feel to it, veering toward the offbeat.
“The aliens are coming to Earth, and they are literally under our noses because they take a form of mustaches,” said Tom Hume, Toshiba’s director of marketing communications. “We’re trying to make our brand more relevant to the younger audience who wasn’t as familiar with Toshiba in the past, and Intel is trying to do the same.”
The episodes were directed by Will Speck and Josh Gordon, who were behind full-length comedies such as “The Switch,” featuring Jennifer Aniston and Jason Bateman, and “Blades of Glory,” starring Will Ferrell.
“The Power Inside” features Craig Roberts in the role of Neal, the main protagonist who saves the world using information stored on Toshiba’s Ultrabook. Analeigh Tipton stars as his love interest, while Reid Ewing of the “Modern Family” TV show is cast as her boyfriend. Keitel, who was in classics such as Quentin Tarantino’s “Pulp Fiction” and Martin Scorsese’s “Taxi Driver,” plays the role of barber O’Mansky in Toshiba’s production.
Consumers are invited to audition on the film’s Facebook page to be included in the show and influence the outcome. They can join the aliens by posting photos of their own mustaches or be on Neal’s team by uploading videos of them shaving their facial hair. Girls have an option to participate by wearing or ripping off a fake unibrow.
Consumers can also enter The Power Inside Moustache Madness sweepstakes for a chance to win products from partner sponsors, such as headphone maker Skullcandy Inc. and Spotify, a digital music service provider.
SF Ad Shop
Pereira & O’Dell, an advertising agency headquartered in San Francisco, came up with the concept of the social film genre for Toshiba. It also is handling media buying to promote the social media campaign.
Toshiba Corp.’s 2012 media budget for its notebooks and laptops was $18 million, according to Kantar Media.
“The Power Inside” has a tough act to follow. Last year’s show was awarded a 2013 Daytime Emmy for Outstanding New Approach to Daytime Programming. It centered on a character who wakes up every day as a different person. He also used the Ultrabook to chronicle his experiences.
“There was a way for him to track this, so the product was always front and center,” Hume said. “It’s important that we don’t absolutely hit people over the head with the product, but they are certainly aware of it.”
And they don’t seem to mind, according to comments posted on YouTube and the show’s Facebook page.
“People are saying, ‘Yeah sure, I know this is sort of an online ad, but the content is good, [and] I don’t mind coming back and watching it,’” Hume said.
TV Spots
Toshiba is also running “Tap, You’re It,” a 30-second TV ad that features a woman’s journey as she starts her own business. The touch-screen laptop plays a center role, enabling her to collaborate with graphic designers, find the perfect “Lobsta Truck,” and use the device’s tablet form to her take orders.
“The goal of the campaign is really to show the breadth of what we have that is touch-enabled,” Hume said.
The ad was created by Los Angeles-based Goodness Manufacturing, which is Toshiba’s advertising agency of record for laptops and TVs in the U.S. market. The ad aired on national cable networks such as Comedy Central, MTV, Discovery, FX, AMC and ABC Family, and will run through Labor Day. The digital campaign will continue longer on sites, including Pandora, Google Mobile, YouTube and CNET.
Toshiba used print ads to promote its Kirabook in magazines that have a high-end design feel, including Wired and Dwell.
However, Hume said “print is not a big part of our campaign, mostly because we can find our audience pretty good with digital.”
