Intel on leveraging temptation to go viral

The series of six videos portray ‘social experiments’ in a candid-camera style. Shot in Australia, Indonesia and Thailand the now-viral campaign showcases just how far passersby are willing to go to earn an ultrabook.

“What we’re doing is getting people excited and wanting to learn more," said Jayant Murty, the director of brand strategy at Intel Asia-Pacific, in an interview with Campaign Asia-Pacific. "To see what people would do if they saw something like this, what lengths they would go to. It’s not just funny, but amazing to watch people go out of their comfort zones.” 

The brief given to Sydney-based agency The Monkeys was fairly free-ranging, said Murty. “We told them, ‘Here’s a category that Intel has inspired," he said. "Take the product out there and show people the joy of looking at it, build interest, buzz and excitement around Ultrabooks, and let people know that Intel is inspiring this category’.”

The six social experiments include breaking a glass display case (Daring Temptations), a treasure hunt on Bondi Beach (Determined Temptations), and punching as hard as you can (Powerful Temptations, the video featured above) all to get an Ultrabook.

Each successful participant won an ultrabook from one of the manufacturers making the devices using Intel’s chips including Acer, Asus, HP and Toshiba.

According to Murty, the experiments were calibrated to the markets they ran in. “People in Australia behave differently from a quieter Indonesia or a more gregarious Thailand. The treasure hunt on Bondi Beach, that takes the element of fun combined with physical fitness and love of a challenge you see in Australians. Sure Thailand has beaches, but I’m not sure we’d have gotten the same level of participation there,” he said.

Murty found Daring Temptations especially fascinating. “Would they break it?," he said. "If they did, would they take the ultrabook? And once they got the ultrabook, would they celebrate or run away?” he asked. The results were both amusing and surprising.

“There was a woman in Bangkok who just walked up, calm as you please and took it,” Murty laughed. "Compare that to the man in Jakarta who hesitantly broke the glass and took the laptop while looking guilty, or the man in Bangkok who broke the glass, ran away and then went back for the ultrabook!”

While the on-the-ground events were held in these three markets, Intel isn’t necessarily targeting only Thailand, Bangkok and Australia. Or even Asia-Pacific for that matter. “The way digital travels across the globe, picking to do a stunt in a city is no longer an indication of a target market," he said. "People share what interests and entertains them, no matter where the ad was shot.”

Nevertheless, the idea has legs, and Intel is interested in rolling it out in other markets around the world. “But we’ll have to be careful about how we construct it," Murty said. "We can’t just replicate experiments, it has to engage and stimulate and get people to step out of the box. You want that hesitancy, but not so much that no one participates.”

This campaign is the latest of Intel’s efforts to reach consumers online following the success of viral campaigns such as the Pop-up theatre, Museum of Me and the Visual Life film series.

“We do business in hundreds of countries, all of whom are connected via phones, computers and tablets," Murty said. "We can’t assume that we can build our brands around the world through traditional advertising. It’s not an option. We’ve started to embrace online video marketing more decisively than most.”

To succeed in creating a viral campaign, marketers need to have a very different mindset from traditional advertising, he said. “Advertising is all about telling people how amazing you are," he said. "Online video however, is about entertaining the consumer. Can we entertain them? Make them part of it? The style of communication is very different when you need your audience to be really engaged.”

Across all of Intel’s online campaigns, the core value is a desire to “inspire the human race”, said Murty. “The campaigns don’t look alike, but we’re trying to create something that stems out of a set of emotions around the brand. Also to try and create work that hasn’t been seen before, that is fresh and energetic.”

Another key factor in viral videos, said Murty, is to go light on the branding. “If you look at the temptation series, we’re not shouting about specific features or benefits of the products. The branding is really very mild.”

Also, online videos are about personal taste. “We’re not expecting anyone to watch all six, and most will only share about one or two," he said. "But everyone likes different videos. It’s all about what resonates with them.” His two favourite videos are Powerful Temptations and Persistant Temptations.

“I just love watching them go round and round on those escalators. Only the 9,999th person gets an Ultrabook, but they’re so determined!” Murty said.

Credits:
Client: Intel: Claudine Pache, Jayant Murty and Stephanie Gan
Agency: The Monkeys
ECD: Justin Drape
Digital Creative Director: Jay Gelardi
Art Director: Jay Gelardi/Kristian Saliba
Copywriter: Jay Gelardi
Head of Broadcast Production: Thea Carone Agency
Producer: Mark Summerville
Group Content Director: Dan Beaumont
Executive Planning Director: Fabio Buresti 
Digital Director: Ben Cooper
Digital Producer: Debbie Sit/ Izabela Gniewkowska
Content Director: Kristen Hardeman
Content Manager: Pia McMorran
Director: Jeremy Hancock
Executive Producer (Alfred): Stuart Couzens 
Production Company: Alfred Editor (The Monkeys): Stew Arnott
Sound Design & Mix: Song Zu Recording Studio: Song Zu