• by Nina Lentini  @Nina_Lentini, May 1, 2008

HP is using the droll humor of Mike Rowe, star of the Discovery Channel's "Dirty Jobs," to sell its Pavilion TX2000z Notebook PC in five very funny vignettes that may end up as commercials on the star's cable home.

The campaign is currently using direct email and a microsite at hp.com.

Kimberly Miller, VP/marketing for HP Home and Home Office Store, tells Marketing Daily that the effort "embodies what people use their computers for--to stay connected and to manage work and personal lives." Rowe was chosen to be the brand's spokesperson because of the "hard-working nature of what he does," which matches the "hard-working nature of the product that we offer," she says.

In one vignette, "Mission Control," viewers watch Rowe and his cameraman as they check into dive motels and eat at dives while living the glamorous life on the road.

They argue about their next destination with Rowe arguing for the nearest one, even though the person involved is "half a bubble off plumb." They stop at a nearby bar, where Rowe describes at length the philosophy behind the show. When he stops, a young thing asks him which smells worse, llama poo or bat poo. Next, Rowe lays across a bed with holes in the mattress, signing his name to 8 x 10 glossies using the TX2000's tablet. "Dear Laura, Thank you for asking but no. Stay dirty, Mike."

The vignettes, created by McCann-Erickson, are designed to take viewers behind the scenes of "Dirty Jobs." Miller says the format, bringing out a product through a personality, is new for HP.

Whether the vignettes become spots aired on the Discovery Channel, she says, is yet to be determined.