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Home Journal 2003

HP ad perspective

After HP’s “you blog” ad attracted so much attention a couple days ago, I thought it appropriate to add a little more context, so no one thinks the campaign is entirely blog-focused.

After HP’s “you blog” ad attracted enough attention a couple days ago, I thought it appropriate to add a little more context, so no one thinks the campaign is entirely blog-focused. That ad just happened to catch my attention (and interest) because of its subject matter. As others pointed out in the comments for that entry, this could have been part of the ad agency’s intent. But I actually think whoever thought of the blog ad might just be trying to capitalize on a rapidly rising trend before anyone else does.

Another HP ad, showing a female in the foreground, wind blowing her hair, deep blue water behind her, and the phrase 'You speak with pictures, not words.'
Another HP ad, showing a black and white photo of a gorgeous lake surrounded by trees and mountains, and the phrase 'You are the new school of old school.' Smaller text adds: 'Color is Life. Black and white is art.
Another HP ad, showing a young flower girl dressed for a wedding standing on a sidewalk, and the phrase 'You make a good story.

A few of the ads surrounding the “you blog” ad include these. They represent a small portion of the range of this campaign, but are also the most similar to the “you blog” version. Other ads focus on telling stories, light-weight printers, peripherals, and the concept of color or black and white as art. Some are much larger (the ones I’ve shown are maybe 5-feet by 4-feet), some are tacked down to the floor at the bottom of escalators, some are back-lit, others are wrapped around 14-foot columns. Note that none of the ads I’m showing provide any literal reference at all to HP. They rely on the viewer connecting the messages with other branded ads placed nearby.

Seeing more of the ads that are part of this campaign helps paint a better picture of what HP is trying to communicate. Taking the blog ad out of context is easy to do if it’s the only one you’ve seen from the campaign. Regardless of what people say about the blog ad, I find HP’s tack with the current campaign very interesting. With $300 million backing this ad campaign, I’m sure many of you will start seeing more effects of it soon.