“IT departments will be able to manage both desktops and notebooks reliably and deal with what plagues them most–security threats, cost of ownership, resource allocation and asset management–and do so wirelessly,” Intel says in a press release announcing its new vPro and Centrino computer management products.
That’s a mouthful that isn’t easy to communicate in an advertising message–unless you do it with rock music. Which is just what Intel is doing with “Everything Has Changed,” a music video playing at www.itgetseasier.com and YouTube. The video features soft rock and hard rock musicians who sing a compelling song, rich with lyrics IT managers can identify with–“Almost overnight it seems, no more pbkacs in my dreams.” A pbkac is a ‘problem between keyboard and chair,’ or a user, according to Gary Rose, executive producer/partner of GO Film/bicoastal, which produced the video for MRM Worldwide and McCann Erickson/New York.
“This is the first time these features for managing PC fleets are embedded into hardware,” said Duncan Mitchell, senior VP/creative director at MRM Worldwide. “We wanted to make it fun and interesting, so we had the soft rock singer who represents software and the hard rock singer who represents hardware come together in a song and now that they’re together it makes it better for IT managers.”
The 2:33 video was shot in an office, where the musicians perform amidst desk-bound employees (the soft rock singer pulls the hair of one of them). The soft rock singer has an acoustic guitarist behind him, while the hard rock singer plays electric guitar and is supported by a bassist and drummer. The two sing separately, then jam together near the end of the film to celebrate the new world Intel has created, where “the power’s where it should be, with IT.”
The film was directed by Christopher Guest, director of This Is Spinal Tap and other mockumentaries, whose talent for making humorous musical films is legendary. He wrote the lyrics using IT terms MRM provided with music by CJ Vanston/The Treehouse, Rose said.
The film was shot in Los Angeles in February with a 16mm camera.
There is some print and online advertising in the campaign, but Mitchell called the film a stand-alone piece. It runs with a second film, “Set IT Managers Free,” on the website. “It has a kind of humor we thought IT managers would be into,” Mitchell said. “It’s a surreal piece; we’re trying to charm a little more than sell.”
The film pays tribute to IT managers, who are “unsung heroes who keep the whole world running and every business would collapse without them,” Mitchell said. “We wanted to do something special that shows how big their task is.”
Using a film at the forefront of a campaign is risky, because there’s no guarantee it will be watched. “People have to seek out your piece, there’s no captive audience. They choose to see it so you have to make sure it’s something they enjoy watching,” Mitchell said. A Chrisopher Guest film starring rockers singing about IT technology is something every IT professional will want to watch.
Ron Cicero and Bo Clancey Launch Production House 34North
Executive producers Ron Cicero and Bo Clancey have teamed to launch 34North. The shop opens with a roster which includes accomplished directors Jan Wentz, Ben Nakamura Whitehouse, David Edwards and Mario Feil, as well as such up-and-coming filmmakers as Glenn Stewart and Chris Fowles. Nakamura Whitehouse, Edwards, Feil and Fowles come over from CoMPANY Films, the production company for which Cicero served as an EP for the past nearly five years. Director Wentz had most recently been with production house Skunk while Stewart now gains his first U.S. representation. EP Clancey was freelance producing prior to the formation of 34North. He and Cicero have known each other for some 25 years, recently reconnecting on a job directed by Fowles. Cicero said that he and Clancey “want to keep a highly focused roster where talent management can be one on one--where we all share in the directors’ success together.” Clancey also brings an agency pedigree to the new venture. “I started at Campbell Ewald in accounts, no less,” said Clancey. “I saw firsthand how much work agencies put in before we even see a script. You have to respect that investment. These agency experiences really shaped my approach to production--it’s about empathy, listening between the lines, and ultimately making the process seamless.” 34North represents a meeting point--both literally and creatively. Named after the latitude of Malibu, Calif., where the idea for the company was born, it also embraces the power of storytelling. “34North118West was the first GPS-enabled narrative,” Cicero explained. “That blend of art and technology, to captivate an audience, mirrors what we do here--create compelling work, with talented people, harnessing state-of-the-art... Read More