To promote DellConnect, a tool that lets Dell service and support associates diagnose and repair computers over a broadband connection, Dell is running a viral film, “Nerd Buddy,” which features computer nerds strapped to the backs of Dell computer owners, which is the wrong way to fix a computer.
“Every other computer product out there requires specialists to visit your house or you have to send your computer somewhere, so we came up with the idea of putting a tech guy on the owners’ backs 24 hours a day,” said Brandon Wilson, interactive art director at Bernstein-Rein/Kansas City, which created the two-minute-and-nine-second film that was produced by Sparks Productions/Toronto.
The humorous film stars a scientist, who explains nerd buddies as “the future of computer technical support,” before one is delivered to a customer’s house in a packing box. Scenes of nerd buddies in action riding on the backs of customers follow, until the scientist realizes it would be better to separate the customer from customer support and connect them remotely … and DellConnect is born.
The film was shot in Toronto in February with JVC GY-HD110 HDV cameras, “which were perfect for this because it’s a smaller format camera that shoots 16 x 9 but 4 x 3 center cropped for the web. It gives you the opportunity to shoot in HD for a better look,” said the film’s director Mitchell Gabourie.
The key to the shoot was to build rigs so the actors playing the nerds could sit on the backs of the computer owners without harming them. “The FX house built two support rigs, one like a bicycle seat on a pogo stick and another larger rig with wheels for moving shots, allowing our actors to function normally and seamlessly with their nerd buddy fused to their backs,” Gabourie said. “We simply green screened the rigs and painted it out later.”
The scientist who stars in the film was found through a casting call. “We went through 170 to find the scientist,” Gabourie said. “We wanted someone who was pretentious but likable, with an Ivy League or British manner, like someone you might see in a BBC documentary.”
“Nerd Buddy” is Dell’s first attempt at viral film, Wilson said. “They’re a conservative company, they focus on products and benefits and this is new territory. Since it’s new, Dell gave us the freedom to be looser and we had fun with the entertainment value and did a softer sell than they’re used to,” he said. “It was a lot more abstract. You wouldn’t do it in traditional advertising. The web lets you drive deeper and tell a more involved story than a TV ad.”
The film plays at www.projectnerdbuddy.com, the site Bernstein-Rein created for DellConnect. It also runs at YouTube along with short 8 to 15 second clips that promote the film. The target audience is Dell computer owners, 18 to 35 years old.
Supreme Court Allows Multibillion-Dollar Class Action Lawsuit To Proceed Against Meta
The Supreme Court is allowing a multibillion-dollar class action investors' lawsuit to proceed against Facebook parent Meta, stemming from the privacy scandal involving the Cambridge Analytica political consulting firm.
The justices heard arguments in November in Meta's bid to shut down the lawsuit. On Friday, they decided that they were wrong to take up the case in the first place.
The high court dismissed the company's appeal, leaving in place an appellate ruling allowing the case to go forward.
Investors allege that Meta did not fully disclose the risks that Facebook users' personal information would be misused by Cambridge Analytica, a firm that supported Donald Trump 's first successful Republican presidential campaign in 2016.
Inadequacy of the disclosures led to two significant price drops in the price of the company's shares in 2018, after the public learned about the extent of the privacy scandal, the investors say.
Meta spokesman Andy Stone said the company was disappointed by the court's action. "The plaintiff's claims are baseless and we will continue to defend ourselves as this case is considered by the District Court," Stone said in an emailed statement.
Meta already has paid a $5.1 billion fine and reached a $725 million privacy settlement with users.
Cambridge Analytica had ties to Trump political strategist Steve Bannon. It had paid a Facebook app developer for access to the personal information of about 87 million Facebook users. That data was then used to target U.S. voters during the 2016 campaign.
The lawsuit is one of two high court cases involving class-action lawsuits against tech companies. The justices also are wrestling with whether to shut down a class action against Nvidia.... Read More