Work Easy. Play Hard. And #bendtherules

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By: Cindy Wendland

When your teenage son finds a video you “just have to see,” you know the company has done a great job in engaging a part of the teen market. He showed me the #bendtherules campaign YouTube video with professional surfer Ian Walsh.

The product advertised is the HP Pavilion X360 touchscreen laptop. It took several times viewing the video to understand exactly what was being promoted. The huge waves in the video were captivating and the spokesperson, Ian, attractive. The HP is shown a few times, but the campaign also mentioned getting your name put on his board when you submit pictures and video about how you are “bending the rules,” so it became somewhat confusing.

The video didn’t impress with the Pavilion’s capabilities, but the website covered it well. HP claims the Pavilion X360 has the best-sounding, richest audio on the market with BeatsAudio™ and dual speakers. It has a 360-degree hinge, allowing you to position the device any which way. It is a tablet and a laptop all at the same time. The $399 price point is attractive for the capabilities.

The slogan and the Twitter campaign are solid. It seems like a nice product and it did grab a teen’s attention. But did it grab him for the right reason and did it do anything to further the sale of the product? If it took four times through the video and a thorough review of the website to understand the product, the answer is no.

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About the Author

Cindy Wendland has a background in marketing and finance. She is the creative director for an online men's health magazine, BrainBrawnBody.com, and she gets to write their leisure/travel blog. She is also a web designer helping her clients with online community engagement, websitesbywendland.com. Prior to her web years, she worked in pharmacy consulting.

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