HP Toyrama Campaign

Background

The aim of the campaign was to launch the high-powered HP xw9400 Workstation, which delivers high-end 3D graphics performance for designers, 3D artists and animators. Arc Worldwide were tasked with creating a digital campaign that would reach out to these creatives in the most appropriate and appealing manner. Their brief was to achieve awareness, create desire and drive purchase consideration for HP workstations amongst a target audience who might otherwise consider only Macs. Another challenge was to create a big idea that would be equally effective across the whole Asia Pacific region.

Idea

Upon receiving the brief, Arc Worldwide thought that the campaign should also illustrate how HP inspires and enables dreams through the partnership with DreamWorks that produced box office animation films like Shrek and Over The Hedge. They saw this as an opportunity to create emotional connect with the target audience. This thought brought them to the single minded proposition – ‘Bring imagination to life’ - and the idea to base the campaign around user-generated animation films. With permission from UK-based toy designer Pete Fowler to use his Monsterism toys, they created the HP Toyrama Contest.

The online competition invites digital animators and amateurs to create stop-motion animation starring five toy characters from Monsterism Island. Developers can log on to www.hptoyrama.com and create animated movies using the scenarios and backgrounds provided on the website. Completed movies can be submitted on the website for the chance to win Autodesk Maya software and a free trip to DreamWorks Animation Studios in the USA. To generate traffic to the website, direct mailers and press kits were sent to the media. Ambient stickers and posters were placed in schools and toyshops. Online banners, viral mobile clips and customised emails helped spread the word. An internal HP competition also helped create buzz within HP’s ranks.

Results

Within just four days of its launch and without any visible media running, the HP Toyrama site had already garnered more than 3,000 unique visits. More than 10 creative blogs and online forums had begun raving about Toyrama, and a quick Google of ‘HP Toyrama’ already yielded a staggering 18,000 results.

Target Audience

Designers, 3D artists and animators

Our Thoughts

How can you demonstrate to creative people that they can do as much on a PC as they can on a Mac? Invite them to make a stop-frame animated movie using the Monsterism toys created by Pete Fowler. The idea is to show how, if HP could help DreamWorks make 'Shrek' and 'Toy Story', their wittily-named xw9400 PC can do the same for you. My problem, and theirs I guess, is I can't imagine not working on a Mac.