Thursday, August 4, 2011

Rebecca Black Endorses TouchPad In Latest Ad

Well folks, it looks like HP has added another name to its arsenal of big-name endorsements, which currently includes Russell Brand, Miranda Cosgrove, Lea Michele, and Manny Pacquiao. It's Rebecca Black!


Best known for her March viral hit "Friday", Miss Black is one of the first of the new wave of young celebrities hired to promote the TouchPad. Her video includes her singing and dancing about the merits of the HP TouchPad, emphasizing its calendar abilities.

"Tomorrow is Saturday, and Sunday comes afterwards," she sings. "And it syncs with Google and Yahoo calendars!"

In order to find out more about the impact of an endorsement by this unlikely star, FPC interviewed a few friends in the neighborhood.

Betty LaRue, age 94


"This portable television looks wonderful, and I'm sure it's a lot of fun. But I don't know why that girl thought it was fun enough to say it was 'fun, fun, fun'."

"And I know my days of the week without her telling me that I can plan them in my calendar. Not totally senile yet, honey!"

We asked Mrs. LaRue if she would consider buying the tablet after seeing the ad.

"Well, to be honest I'm waiting for the version with the AT&T cellular radio. Now, I know that HSPA+ isn't really 4G, but the new version has a faster processor and I'm worried about being left behind in the dust when more demanding apps begin to surface in the future. Now, I know I can overclock, but as we saw with the first generation Pres, it just isn't the same, is it? The hardware in the chip really does make all the difference. Also, I like to use Bing Maps when I'm driving outside the retirement home."

"Would you like a cookie?"

Jennifer Chen, age 13


"I don't really know. I don't really like Rebecca Black, but I think that the tablet looks cool. A lot like an iPad. I really want one of those."

"Even though I'm not sure why I would need an app called Seat Chooser HD."

Josh Carvello, age 19

Unfortunately, as soon as we asked Mr. Carvello whether he would buy a tablet promoted by Rebecca Black, he broke down into uncontrollable laughter and subsequently slammed his front door in our face. This was the only picture of him that we were able to obtain.


Out of leads in our own neighborhood, we visited HP's ad agency, Goodby Silverstein & Partners, in San Francisco, in order to have a chat with John Coyne, Worldwide Group Director.


He had the following to say about the ad campaign.


"Everyone we've tapped for our advertisements so far is someone you would look up to, someone you could trust. Just take a look. We've got Lea Michele. Do you love Glee? I love Glee. All real men like Glee. She's funny, she's smart, she's pretty. She's a damn good singer. If I were a teenager in high school, I would totally idolize Lea."

"And then there's Russell Brand. He is hilarious! Did you see Forgetting Sarah Marshall? LOVE that movie. And his character is great not only because of his perfect comedic timing and terrific ability to emote - but because of the fact that he goes out and bangs other people's girlfriends. And if you are a young man and you have a dream, and you watch that commercial, the connection is made in your mind - even if you don't realize it! - if I buy a TouchPad... maybe someday I can bang other people's girlfriends too."

"Then we have Miranda Cosgrove. What a wonderful young lady. She is already selling cosmetics for Neutrogena. She's got an album coming out. Let me let you in on a secret. Are most Americans religious or educated? Of course not. They need role models. Who do they look up to? TV celebrities. The ones that generate the most buzz, the ones that are most popular, successful, well, they've been chosen by the American people to represent our ideals. And so they are damn well going to represent our product!"

Here he lowered his voice to a whisper.

"We had hired Amy Winehouse, God rest her soul."

Looking a little anxious, he continued.

"And that is why we brought Rebecca on board. Damn if this girl doesn't know how to party. She has fun, fun, fun all the time, especially on the weekends. Even at seven A.M."

We asked Mr. Coyne what he was working on next. Again he lowered his voice to a whisper.

"Actually, we were all fired. I have to be in Palo Alto in half an hour. Leo thought it would be funny if for my last assignment I had to shine his shoes."

Photo Credit:
"Smiling Young Woman" - Image by a454

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