Generation Z has come of age in the era of the smartphone and tablet. They’re accustomed to computers being portable, durable and designed to share easily. HP recognizes this. Thus, they target a generation that cares more about the life they’re living than the brand they’re sporting. HP’s new line of laptops fits in their mobile lives. It’s long been phone for pleasure, laptop for business. HP has designed a laptop capable of straddling these two worlds.
AESTHETIC
And this campaign showcases the feather light nature of HP laptops.
HP laptops are grounded. This is not a product to be enjoyed in surrealist clouds. It’s not something you have to reach for. It comes to you and fits in your life.
These boards are irreverent. Fluent in the language of folks who want to use tech, not worship it. It’s a playful, high fashion world. Most of all…it’s fun. Nothing is lighter than fun.
And so we’re going to make a campaign that flows from one location to the next as the HP laptop gets handed off, tossed, spun and moved. It’s the kind of action that would make someone over 30 go “NO – YOU CAN’T DO THAT WITH A COMPUTER!” while saying to themselves, “it’d be pretty sweet to have a computer light enough to toss like a frisbee.”
That’s what we’ll deliver. Genuine films that are aesthetically clean and captured with in-camera wizardry. A hallmark of our lives between the ages of 18-24 is looking back and going, “I can’t believe I did – THAT.” We have a series of actions that are worry-free, but not care-free.
CASTING
What impresses me most about these boards is the emphasis on genuine 18-24 year olds. It’s not giving them what we think they want. It’s speaking their language and letting them draw their own conclusions. It respects youth enough to portray them as they actually are.
I’m keenly aware that that’s why you and I are talking. My work is populated with the characters in the previous round of spots. I know exactly how to find the talent we need. And once we have them, I know how to coax natural performances. To capture them on camera “being” rather than “acting”.
First off, we are casting youth who are not kids. They possess a maturity and live lives of their own, but aren’t focused on “serious matters.” These aren’t James Dean rebels. It’s less about pushing back against expectations than it is setting their own. They’re real people living like no one is watching them. That total lack of self-awareness is a gift. HP knows they don’t need tech to escape reality. They need tech to make their reality better.
We can build off that charming, anti-commercial quality the characters had in your BTS spots. Those individuals have a magnetism. They’re attractive and belong in front of a lens. In a way, we’re putting together an ensemble. I loved that your talent had such potent chemistry that some of them are dating now. I’ve had that experience on my Adidas jobs. If you want proof of magnetism and chemistry, look no further.
Working out of London and Los Angeles, we can find my kind of casting with tons to spare. There’s nothing stock or cookie cutter with these folks. They come from all walks of life. It’s a diverse blend that comes about naturally. We are looking for the dozen most unique, engaging personalities. Casting in LA and London has deep, diverse talent pools. No need to check boxes or pursue quotas. A global cast will arise naturally.
Casting is key. It’s nearly the most crucial component of this film. The first being—
PRODUCT
The HP laptop ties these characters together. It’s passed from one character to the next. First off, the product is a worthy star. It’s sleek and current. Having the HP laptops change hands makes it an organic focal point. The logo will appear in every shot, but it will not feel like obvious product placement. I find it better to be honest than try to pull the wool over people’s eyes. Since the viewer is savvy to product placement anyway, let’s embrace that this is an ad.
I was glad to see the difference in sizing. Scaling down to the Rainer from Superman makes the various stunts easier to pull off. That makes the tossing, flinging and passing motions most genuine. It also makes it easier for the talent to handle. All throughout, we see the laptop’s functionality. We see it opening, closing, playing videos, communicating, creating, connecting. Everything you need.
EXECUTION – LIGHT AS A FEATHER, STIFF AS A BOARD
It all comes down to the transitions. We have to make the viewer believe that these kids really pulled off some daredevil handoffs with the HP Laptops. My goal is to get as much of these in-camera as possible, with the actual product. We must walk that fine line between reckless and relaxed. These characters are nonchalant about passing their laptop not because they don’t care about it, but because it’s so light that it’s easy to grasp. Let’s avoid creating the impression that the laptops are indestructible. If we use duplicate “prop” laptops, they should be made of the same material and weigh the same. I can understand if we want to skip the hard drive and motherboard.
For the more intricate moves, like spinning on the person’s head, we can employ VFX to blend the moments together. A52 is a strong production house. We’ll lean on them to seamlessly integrate the laptop passes when we get into complex camera work along with it.
I love how you have tailored the Influencer list to the script. You’ve gone out and find Influencers who can spin laptops on their finger, balance on their heads, etc. The more second nature a movement is to our talent, the more convincing that movement will appear on camera.
MOVEMENT
The movement should be seamless and smooth, but true to life. It’s more like a well-controlled frisbee than a magic carpet. Ultimately, this is a choreographed dance between camera, talent and product. We will rehearse it to the point that it becomes nonchalant to the actors. The hand-offs are their performances. We must be camera about how daring these moves are without putting the product in danger or making people take it out of the box and throw it to their friends. Just because they COULD doesn’t mean they SHOULD. It’s the same as seeing an ad where a phone falls in water, but still functions.
The movement of the product should feel like we achieved it practically. It will be jaw-dropping, but not magical. It’s the difference between parkour and wire-work in an action film. No one should accuse us of faking it. Truth is especially important to the target demo. Getting real, clean transitions that showcase the product’s lightness is essential.
VISUALS
The behavior is raw and kitchen sink real. The visuals are filmic. This does not look like something these characters dropped in their story timeline. The camera work is premium. The light is that spectacular California warmth. The naturally bright sunshine that lured millions to the state and made Hollywood the center of the filmmaking universe a century ago. This will make that bright colour palette in the deck truly pop. Nothing about these backdrops are beige. The pastel allows the premium silver of the laptop to stand out. Especially as it passes from skin tone to skin tone. Pink, aqua, magenta, sky blue, canary. It has that floral softness that you would find in that cafe on the edge of the street that’s been there for 40 years, but you just stumbled upon for the first time today.
These locations also feel true to life. They are hole in the wall apartments that have been decorated impeccably by the characters. They are dorm rooms and parks and sidewalks, skate parks and cafes and library steps. If we’re shooting in Los Angeles, the city offers locations diverse as the people within it. Sometimes all it takes is a trip down Sunset Blvd.
THE WALKTHROUGHS
“Catching Air”
Open on OLAN PRENATT riding a skateboard near the Canals in Venice Beach. The camera tracks alongside him as he approaches his friend, BRIANA KING. She slings an HP Spectre x360, which is already open. Without missing a beat, Olan regards Briana who compliments him on his run, as she hands off the laptop. Olan watches the already posted clip showing the ride he literally just made.
The lateral movement continues into the next shot. We’re passing bathroom stalls with two friends using them, side by side. The lack of pants around the ankles make it clear that the two friends are simply lounging in the bathroom, hiding out from class or work, rather than using it. As the camera tracks right, we hear a friend laugh as she slides the Spectre x360 to her friend, who then passes the toilet paper back in exchange. The Spectre is open at a slight angle, allowing us to clearly see the HP on the top side.
With a cut to a cafe, the camera continues tracking right, this time showing a group of friends in a cafe, dressed in matching suits like they’re going to give a presentation together. An open Spectre x360 is passed down as five of these teammates sign off on a PowerPoint. Each teammate kills time in different ways as they wait for the PowerPoint to come in. The relaxed teammate twirls gum as they pass it along. The nervous person drums a pen on the table top, perhaps after one cup too many. The two group members who contributed the least doodle on each other with sharpies.
The camera continues moving laterally as a group of friends walks down the street. Among the crowd are RICKEY THOMPSON, strutting his stuff, and AIMEE LOU WOOD. They’re playfully joking as Aimee is skeptical of a boasting Rickey. He squats down before her as she places the Spectre x360 square on the crown of his head. Rickey balances it expertly for a two count, then it starts to slide, Rickey tilts his head forward as his hands rise—
Instead of falling, we see the HP logo spinning from above. We cut to a frontal shot as BRETMAN ROCK spins the tablet mode Spectre x360 on his index finger. As he runs out of steam spinning the Laptop, he lightly tosses the computer out of frame—
Cut to the Spectre x360 floating through the air. KATELYN OHASHI snatches it on her way up from a trampoline jump. She makes a goofy face to someone on Skype, then hands the laptop back to a friend waiting on the Balcony.
Cut to SALEM MITCHELL and TIFFANY MEIA riding bicycles side by side. The camera tracks alongside them as the sunlight strobes through a picket fence behind them. They say goodbye and start to veer apart. Suddenly, Tiffany gets Salem’s attention. Once they make eye contact, Tiffany tosses Salem her Spectre x360 which houses a project she’s been working on.
Cut to Evan Mock in the grass at a park. The HP Spectre x360 is in close-up, with Evan’s foot sliding delicately underneath it. He kickflips the laptop up to his hands, which he catches easily.
A guy stands in the foreground atop a spiral staircase, looking down the barrel. He lets the Spectre x360 drop. At first, we don’t see anyone. Then, a friend leans into the hallway and catches the laptop. She runs out of the building.
Cut to two girls sitting on tire swings as they eat cotton candy. The two are far apart, moving closer to each other as one passes the Spectre x360 to the other.
Cut to friends sitting poolside. One friend has a cast over their broken hand (and plastic wrap over that cast). He flings the Spectre x360 like a frisbee. We cut to an overhead shot showing friends on various floats in the pool as the laptop flies over them to a friend on the other side.
A person in one apartment tosses it out the open window, completely nonchalant. A friend in a neighboring apartment reaches out and grabs it off a balcony.
A super reads: “Lighter than air.”
We cut back to KATELYN OHASHI leaping on the trampoline, carrying on that Skype call with her infectious enthusiasm. As she stops the Skype call, she relaxes, letting the Spectre x360 drop on the trampoline. It bounces into a low angle shot of the laptop against the blue sky as the HP on the logo seamlessly transitions to the
HP Spectre x360 animation.
END CARD: Featuring a glorious product shot of the open HP Spectre x360 as it pivots on a lazy susan.
ULTRA LIGHT
THE NEW HP SPECTRE x360
HP – keep reinventing
END OF SPOT
MUSIC + SOUND
HP licenses some sweet vintage tracks. I noticed it on the last go round. I also did some digging into youtube for older clips as well, which were populated by this eye catching visual wizardry and catchy classic pop songs: The Kinks, The Cure, Tommy James and the Shondells. There is an excellent, eternal teenage vibe (what else is pop music?) that simultaneously reminds older viewers that these characters are just like them when they were 18-24, even if they don’t look it.
They provide a hook, drawing the viewer in as the lyrics indirectly narrate the visuals. The rhythm of the spot will come from the track we select. It will set the tempo. Part of the charm is how the track was released decades ago, but still feels current today. Some of that comes from being ahead of its time. Some of that comes from influencing others. Mark Ronson’s made a whole career out of replicating the late 60s/early 70s sound. It needs to be something old that one of our characters would hear and assume is a new artist. Something like this. Or this. Or a lesser known cover of a well-known classic. In true Wes Anderson / HP fashion, we could go to the Kinks. Or maybe we only throw back to 15 years ago and use this. We could also take a recent track that feels retro. And when all else fails, just go to Sly and the Family Stone.
Or, if we want to get super literal with ‘wind’ and ‘floating’, we can do this. Just trying to see if you were still with me on that one.
Patrick McConville 