“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.
Review: Drew Hancock Makes Feature Directorial Debut With “Companion”
"Iris, wake up!"
Early in "Companion," lovely Iris and her nerdy-nice boyfriend Josh are driving to a secluded lake house for a stay with friends. Iris wakes from a nap and lovingly tells Josh she was dreaming about him. They reminisce about how they first met at the supermarket. All those oranges tumbling onto the floor! Ha ha.
In 20 minutes, absolutely everything about this sweet scene will be turned on its head in a terrifying and sinister manner. You will be surprised and shocked. Unless you saw the trailer, which reveals the whole thing.
And so we begin with a dilemma, dear moviegoer. "Companion," an exceedingly clever and entertaining sci-fi-horror-thriller-comedy by Drew Hancock in his feature debut, has more twists and turns than a corkscrew. But it's utterly impossible to write about the film without revealing the first of those twists.
So if you like coming in totally cold to a movie, then we're sorry to see you go, but stop reading! Otherwise, stay with us — we promise there'll be more surprises to come.
Moving on: Iris (Sophie Thatcher) and Josh (Jack Quaid) arrive at the estate. A nervous Iris stops at the door, worried that Josh's friends won't like her. He urges her to simply brighten up and act happy.
Kat (Megan Suri), Josh's ex, greets them. She is gorgeous, and frosty to Iris. Eli (Harvey Guillén) and his handsome boyfriend Patrick (Lukas Gage) are nicer. Then there's Sergey (Rupert Friend), Kat's aloof Russian boyfriend — sugar daddy, really — and owner of the house. The password to his devices is Stalin's birthday, which tells you something.
Things get dark, quickly. The next morning, someone dies. They will not be the first — this is a horror movie. And suddenly Iris, caked in blood,... Read More