• by Aaron Baar , May 6, 2016

Passwords are a pain, which is why many of them are intuitive and easy to remember. Rather than scare the pants off consumers with tales of identity theft and security breaches, Intel Security and Betty White are offering up some security pep talks to educate the masses about “multi-factor authentication.”

In honor of “World Password Day” (which occurs on the first Thursday in May to highlight the importance of password security), White is appearing in a series of digital videos, combining a grandmotherly tone mixed with a layer of sass and tech jargon. The intent is to lure people to the topic with humor, says Gary Davis, chief consumer security evangelist at Intel Security. 

“This is important for everyone. It’s important to do everything we can to make our passwords more secure,” Davis tells Marketing Daily. “We don’t use fear as a reason for doing this. If people find something fun and engaging, they’re more apt to do it.”

In the videos, which can be found on Intel’s World Password Day Web site, White directly addresses the camera. “If you’re like me, you can take pretty much anything that life hands you,” she says in one. “But passwords… they can annoy the [bleeped] heck out of you.” She advises adding a layer to password security in the form of multi-factor authentication, such as adding biometrics, codes sent to other devices or facial recognition. “It’s like taking breath mints and gum on a night out. Just in case,” she says. In others, she alludes to a vibrant online dating life, her preference for massively multiplayer online role playing games and a tendency toward “partying until I can salute the sunrise.” 

“The way [White] engages will be a win-win,” Davis says. “Everybody knows who she is, and she’s got broad, solid appeal across generations.”

In addition to the dedicated Web site, the videos will be running on Intel’s social channels, as well as those of Intel’s partners, Davis says. “What makes it work is when you get it out to scale and to the masses,” he says. “Next year, it could be a different tactic. We look to evolve it an keep it current with what’s going on in the password [space].”