• by Aaron Baar , October 15, 2015

For years, consumer attention in the electronics category has been focused on the shiny and new, such as tablets, smartphones, wearables, automotive technology. Meanwhile, the workhorse of the sector -- PCs -- has remained, waiting for its time in the spotlight. Now that time has come.

Next week, the biggest names in the computing industry — Dell, HP, Intel, Lenovo and Microsoft — will come together to launch a campaign to draw attention to the often-overlooked PC. Using the line “PC does what?,” the $70 million campaign is intended to make consumers think about replacing the aging PCs they have in their homes.

“We have an amazing story of innovation to tell,” Steve Fund, chief marketing officer at Intel, said during a webcast featuring CMOs from the companies and announcing the campaign. “We wanted to surprise and delight the consumer and let them know how much better today’s PCs are than the PCs that they’re currently using.”

According to the gathered CMOs (in what marks the first time these major players have come together to support a product category), there are 500 million PCs in use that are between four and five years old. Newer PCs have greater functionality, better design, faster chip speeds and can do much more than their aging brethren.

“There’s a common theme that we all want to rally around,” said Karen Quintos, senior vice president and chief marketing officer at Dell. “We want to create that ‘aha moment’ for consumers where the PC is the platform where work and play is done, and create a compelling reason for them to refresh their PCs.”

Launching in the U.S. and China next week, the campaign will include TV and digital advertising, as well as social and native elements. It will also include a website, pcdoeswhat.com, for consumers to learn more. 

Television advertising (created by McGarry Bowen) is intended to showcase the modern PCs in a variety of setting. One commercial, for instance, depicts a search and rescue team heading into a Coast Guard chopper with a PC in hand (showing off its laptop/tablet dual capability). As the chopper lifts off, the ground crew is heard yelling, “PC does what?” Later, on the chopper, the computer plays Kenny Loggins’ 1986 hit, “Danger Zone,” (highlighting the device’s sound) causing the pilot to utter the same phrase. Finally when a castaway is rescued on a life raft (showing off battery life), he is using his own PC, prompting the rescuer to utter the final “PC does what?” line. A voiceover later explains: “PC does what no PC has done before. Does yours?”, as the sponsoring company’s logos appear on the screen. 

Other spots in the campaign depict a woman on vacation being served a computer outside and amazed by its display capabilities, a synchronized trampoline team disrupting its practice, a bellhop serving a PC under a hotel room door and a video game character amazed at the platform’s capabilities. All of the characters exclaim the “PC does what?” line in amazement. 

“This is all about sort of waking people up and showing them collectively how far we’ve come in our software design, in our chip design, and in all the beautiful hardware,” Chris Capossela, CMO at Microsoft, said.

The six-week effort is intended to get consumers thinking about the idea of replacing their PCs as the holiday season heats up. Throughout the campaign — and particularly after it — the companies will continue to promote their individual PC products.

“The category story needs to be told,” said Antonio Lucio, CMO at HP, during the webcast. “There’s a lot of consumers that don’t know the industry has been listening to them and their requirements for the life that they’re living. Mobility has created a lot of innovation in the category, but what people need to understand is those apps and experiences are created in PCs.”

The group opted to run the campaign in the U.S. and China because those two markets account for nearly half of the world’s PC sales, according to the group. There is hope the campaign will spread to other markets through viral sharing and social media. The group is also hoping to reach other markets through native advertising designed to reach consumers as they’re researching computers. 

“We want to be where the consumers are seeking out information in the category, and you don’t want to beat them over the head and feel overly commercial,” Fund said of the native advertising approach. “What we’re trying to do is give them information that’s contextually relevant when and where they’re most receptive to it.”