Cellphones, Desktops, Cameras, Displays, Laptops, Peripherals, Portable Audio / Video, Storage, Tablet PCs, HP ropes in Dr. Dre for 'Lets Do Amazing' personality makeover
By Thomas Ricker 
posted March 11th 2010 6:51AM
posted March 11th 2010 6:51AM
Starting this weekend, HP will be blitzing the airwaves with its first advertising campaign in more than five years. The $40 million, eight-week "Lets Do Amazing" campaign features a number of celebs like "zany" comedian Rhys Darby and photographer Annie Leibovitz in pitches meant to give the very serious company a lighthearted makeover while explaining what it does. Hell, even HP fave Dr. Dre was convinced to shill, though knowing HP they'll probably use his given name of Andre Romelle Young.
Nice weird al reference.
@Sonicjet It's actually from NWA's album Straight Outta Compton.
That said, I prefer Goldie Lookin' Chain's Straight Outta Newport :P
Celebs like this don't do HP any favors.
@darex Why U mad?
@darex
Not a favor man, they're gettin' paid cashmoneys!
Greatest album of ALL time Straight out of Compton
@ashleythehottiest
Na son..The Chronic
@CHICHIgetdaYAYO
Illmatic
What a waste of money IF HP DID introduce Dre as Andre Young. Young people everywhere would be like "WTF? Who is Andre Young??" I doubt HP would do that tho. There's A LOT of power in a name- HP would know that.
Howz about Dre forget about HP, and drop the Detox album already...He'll be 60, and Halie Jade will be out of college by the time he finishes, Geezus Cristo..
What are you talking about - people have heard of HP printers. We also use HP desktops at work and they're pretty damn solid. Better than Dell.
So that's $40 Million down the drain.
So how many people did HP have to lay-off to pay for this wasted advertising campaign???
@Hazdaz Seriously, I completely agree. Mark Hurd pleases the stockholders but treats employees like pure dirt. HP is ranked as one of the worst companies to work for. All Randy and Mark care about are their bonus check, not the 80,000 employees they have laid off since 2000.
@Raymone
It started before that.
Carly Fiorina was the one that put HP on the road to ruin. It was under her (lack of) "leadership" that HP gobbled up Compaq and turned 2 very important and very influential technology companies into just another PC clone-maker.
And now that bitch is looking to run for office in CA? Good luck to California if she ever gets in and puts her useless management style to work on a state-level.
@Hazdaz I'm going to guess all the good ones who would actually be able to make good future laptop designs.
Not doing yourself any favors here HP.
"So what's HP to do?"
well i for one see that they can make their current customers happy. or just settle on not pi$$ed of at HP. given that they should try to get the bad press resolved first, rather than spend money on new campains that will crash and burn into a fury of angry x-hp consumers.
perhaps it's just me though.
"(ever encountere a rabid HP fanboy before?)" -- I'm slightly fanboyish about HP printers. (Not rabid, though. Maybe malarial.) The other brands I've tried had serious trouble with paper jams. And I won't touch Lexmark, with their DRMed cartridges.
@John Stracke
Oddly enough, I'm slightly fanboyish about HP gear, even their notebooks. I currently have a dv3z and I love it. I'm from Los Altos (sandwiched right between Palo Alto and Cupertino) so I have always switched back and forth between Apple and HP. I actually ditched my 13" macbook for the dv3z and I'm very happy with it. Haven't had any issues and would definitely recommend it to others.
I agree with you about their printers, too. Always used HP printers and have always had good results. For the most part, I've had excellent experiences with all their products. I feel like many others have, too, but it's true that HP has not seemed to garner quite the fanbase that other companies have, so you likely won't find many posters rabidly defending the company in the comments section. Oh well.
Frankly, I've always really enjoyed HP's advertising, and that's what makes me agree with most everyone else here that they don't need this marketing campaign; they just need to get more of their usual ads on TV. Of course its personal preference, but I like how they're done:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AHk_5DRBeXk
Yeah, but what about Ed Lover? Wait, which Dre are we talking about?
"Starting this weekend, HP will be blitzing the airwaves with its first advertising campaign in more than five years."
What about those "the computer is personal again" ads. Those have certainly been played in the last 5 years.
@R V it's HP's first Brand video. Not a comercial for the a product, but a comercial for the company.
While I an not a HP fanboy, I do prefer HP computers and printers over others. They have just been more reliable. IMO
@VerticalGambit
Same goes for me. (See post above)
Wait, HP made a phone?
@Hardac12
Several, actually. They're almost all business oriented devices and typically bought by companies in a joint contract when they purchase a huge load of HP's computers. They're similar to Blackberrys, but run on WinMo (which is probably why they've never caught on with consumers)
@Hardac12
Yeah, the iPaq used to go head to head against the Dell Axim for marketshare supremacy...back in 2002.
East coast gonna pop a cap in their bitch asses.
can anyone here tell me what the Beats software actually does? no? ok thanks
Real hiphop doesn't sell, so use Dre or whatever other mainstream rapper gives them a deal.
WE WANT EAZY!
HP had long-running laptop commercials w/ Pharrell & Jay-Z (youtube it)
Needs a little Eminem too!
Define "fanboy." The last 7 computers I bought have all be HPs, including a Vivienne Tam mini 1000, a few TouchSmarts, an Envy 13 and one of their monster 18 laptops. In a store, I always consider HP first, but I am not blinded by the brand, and willing to consider other hardware based on its own merits, but time and time again, I walk out with a HP box...
@jin and guice
rolllin down the street, rockin' HP, sippin' on
I have two HP calculators: one a 12C which my older brother used in college, another a 48G which I purchased in 1993 and I've been using daily ever since. Yes, I think people have heard of HP. * rolls eyes into skull *
i think you mean East Palo Alto
Indeed. Some locals also like to call Palo Alto "Paly." East Palo Alto is not "East Paly," it's simply E.P.A.
@mlayer and E.P.A. miters nicely with the C.P.T. of Compton... I spent plenty of time in E.P.A., sitting in traffic on the cutover from 101 to the Dumbarton.
DR. DRE enough already RELEASE YOUR ALBUM!!