• by Aaron Baar , July 13, 2011

The time it takes for a Windows-powered laptop to power up seems interminable, particularly when compared with the near-instantaneous boot-time of mobile and tablet devices. But even as tablets encroach on PC sales, Lenovo is setting out to prove that its laptops can defy gravity when booting up.

On Wednesday, the PC-maker went live with a Web site, http://rapidboot.com/us/#/home, that shows a laptop successfully booting up (and in doing so, engaging a device-saving parachute) as it plummets to earth after being dropped from an airplane. The video, which will first appear online and then move into cinemas, is intended to highlight the computer's "Rapid Boost" technology, through which a Windows-based computer can power up in as little as 10 seconds.

"While tablets are a key to our strategy going forward, our laptops are still very important to our business," Jeff Meredith, vice president of marketing for mature markets, tells Marketing Daily . "We felt the attributes of Rapid Boost posed an alternative view to people's perception that it takes an eternity for your laptop to boot."

Highlighting the Rapid Boost technology came from qualitative research that found people think it takes nearly twice as long for a Windows-based PC to power up than it actually does, Meredith says. "That was one thing we wanted to play off of," he says. "We wanted to put a laptop in a scenario that -- based on that perception -- people would think it could be impossible for it to come up."

After considering challenging the computer to boot up in the face of an oncoming train or in busy traffic, Lenovo and McKinney (the North Carolina agency behind the campaign) opted for the free-fall test because it offered a more controlled environment. "It's hard to get permission to control a train track or city street," says Glenn Fellman, a group creative director at McKinney. "We had a lot more control over this situation, and gravity is a constant, so we knew what we were working with."

A 15-second teaser video will begin appearing this week in pre-roll and rich media on several sites. In August, the full 60-second video, as well as a two-and-a-half minute "making of" video, will appear in about 18,000 cinema theaters nationwide. If the idea takes off, the company is considering other "Boot or Bust" ideas it's considering using, Meredith says.

"We want to see how it goes," he says. "We think we have an interesting way to showcase an attribute of our products that is different than how technology pieces are typically showcased."

The Boot or Bust campaign is meant to fit with Lenovo's corporate campaign that broke in May that highlights "Those Who Do." That campaign targets people who don't use technology as a "badge, but as a tool to drive accomplishment," Meredith says.

"We wanted to move into the second-phase [with] a product proof point," Meredith says. "This was the first step for us to actually highlight a 'do' feature. We get you up and 'doing' fast with Rapid Boot."

Somewhat ironically for a campaign that subtly compares a laptop's boot time to a tablet's, the landing page for the campaign has been optimized for both traditional computers and tablets, Fellman says. Unlike many other sites, which require different coding or programming (resulting in slightly different experiences) the user experience is exactly the same regardless of the device a consumer is using, he says.

"No matter what device you're on, the Rapid Boot [marketing] experience we put you through is consistent, whether you're using a tablet or mobile device," Meredith adds. "We wanted to make sure you didn't have a sub-par experience when you wanted to access the landing page in any of those formats."