• by Tameka Kee , November 16, 2007

Dell is banking on viral video buzz and star power to sell more computers and notebooks this holiday--fueled by a major ad campaign that will let users send friends and family a customized sales pitch from celebrities like Brooke Burke, Vivica A. Fox, and Burt Reynolds.

At www.YoursIsHere.com, users select which Dell product they want as a gift, choose their video pitch and then e-mail that customized message to gift-givers. They can link the video pleas to a Pay Pal account that potential gift-givers can use to chip in toward the cost of the computer. There's also the option to embed a widget in their Facebook or MySpace page to track their progress and thank their contributors.

With six celebrities to choose from, including UFC Light Heavyweight Champion Chuck "The Iceman" Liddell, Ice-T and Estelle Harris of Seinfeld fame, the sales hooks range from pseudo-intimidating, to snarky, to guilt-inducing and even faintly suggestive. But they're all done in the tongue-in-cheek style synonymous with Mother New York, the agency behind the creative.

Actress Estelle Harris, who played George Costanza's nagging mom in the sitcom Seinfeld, solicits funds through the "guilt sell."

"Not that it's any of my business, but you usually get them a thoughtless gift every year anyway," she groans. "Would it kill you to get them something nice this holiday season?"

According to David Clifton, director of global marketing and communications for Dell's Consumer business, the company is supplementing the videos with "placements on Google and some other key sites." In addition to JumboTron signage above ABC Studios in Times Square, they'll kickoff Thanksgiving weekend with a 30-second Burt Reynolds TV spot.

Meanwhile, on Nov. 26 (Cyber Monday), YouTube users will be greeted with a Dell roadblock featuring Burke. For the first week in December, Burke, Fox and Ice-T will also be on site at Dell's temporary hub in the ABC Studio Store for meet-and-greet opportunities.

Dell is spending a reported $2.5 million on this campaign. Clifton says it is well-spent because the creative is built on daily feedback from some 3 million consumers "on how they want to communicate with us and share information with others. With YoursIsHere.com, we help them get what they wish for."

Dell tried a similar approach this fall for students seeking notebooks and other gear, and company executives said its success led them to expand on the idea for the holidays.