Electronics-focused e-retailer Newegg and its agency, goodness Mfg., are taking an unconventional approach to back-to-school shopping with their Parent Persuasion Program. Unconventional in the sense that typically hidden tactics used by marketers are being openly handed over to students to use on their parents.  Newegg’s Parent Persuasion Program gives students the chance to psychographically profile their parents, then serve up banner ads that track them across the Internet. Parents are introduced into the scheme through funny web films that use “authority figures” to persuade them to buy the latest tech products for school.

One such film is Parent Persuasion Professor in which a young man masquerades in the title role of the slightly zany, white-haired Ludwig who articulates a strong case for buying an ultrabook computer, citing its various advantages in offbeat fashion. For example, he shows a lightweight ultrabook weighing but 2.9 pounds. A student comes to the front of the class and takes off his wig, which is a comparable 2.9 pounds of hair. While the hair won’t help a student excel, the lightweight computer will. Ludwig positions ultrabooks as a savvy back-to-school investment, certainly much better than 2.9 pounds of hair.

Bo Mirosseni of Partizan directed the web films, including Parent Persuasion Professor. The other films also feature quirky characters–including a philosophy teacher and a gym coach–who consider themselves authorities in certain areas that convince parents to make the right purchases for their kids on Newegg.com.

“We wanted a wide range of characters without any being your stereotypical ‘computer expert’,” said Carl Corbitt, creative director, goodness Mfg.. “These films and the other Parent Persuasion Program tools use subterfuge to create the DIY feel that is at the core of Newegg.”

The back-to-school campaign is in keeping with the thinking Newegg is known for–such as offering expert consumer reviews written by loyal “geek” users (there are 19 million of them). The Parent Persuasion Program lets tech-savvy kids use advanced techniques to make sure their parents see their back-to-school wish lists and steers them to a secret section of the Newegg.com web site designed just for students.

  “We wanted to go beyond traditional back-to-school advertising and ideas that have been rehashed over and over again,” explained Corbitt. “For the first time with this campaign, students are basically hacking the way their parents are being marketed to. Let’s be honest, kids and brands both use manipulative tactics to get parents to buy stuff. This time we’re handing over the secret tricks of the trade to students so they can get the tech products they need for school.”

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