• by Nina Lentini , August 11, 2008

With four new ads running a total of 175 times on NBC and its cable networks as well as on NBC's Olympic online portal, it's hard to tell which is more entertaining--Sumo wrestlers, a troll, a castaway, or laser vaporization--all carefully designed to showcase the unique selling proposition of Lenovo computers.

The commercials are designed to separate and elevate Lenovo from the cluttered PC category. The ads are intended to reinforce Lenovo's strong presence as a PC supplier to commercial customers via its ThinkPad product line and signal the company's foray into the worldwide consumer business behind its new IdeaPad consumer PCs.

In "Sumo," busloads of wrestlers descend on a city's streets, stomping through intersections, past Laundromats and taking up an odd formation as seen from overhead. As the heavyweights gaze skyward and lift their arms, we suddenly see them shaped like a gaggle of geese into an airplane form, and they take off into the clouds. Voiceover: "Heavy on features, light on weight."

"Troll" tells the story of Lenovo's one-button recovery technology, "Laser" focuses attention on spill-resistant keyboards, and "Castaway" shows off the company's facial-recognition technology. The ads were created by Ogilvy & Mather Worldwide.

"The Olympics are incredibly important to us at Lenovo," says Glen Gilbert, VP/brand management and marketing strategy. "We're looking to get ourselves on the map in a couple of countries."

After Lenovo acquired IBM's PC division, its first task was to reassure ThinkPad loyalists. Now, its marketing centers on its positioning as having exceptionally engineered products, says Gilbert.

Each spot concludes by announcing that Lenovo powers the Olympic Games. "We truly do," says Gilbert. "We're not just a sponsor who puts our names on something. Lenovo is very much involved in making the Olympic Games run. We've got over 30,000 pieces of equipment at the Games, 600-plus engineers and technicians who have been on site for well over a year and who are working on all of the infrastructure in 57 different venues, seven cities, and at 300 medal events. It's quite an undertaking, and it's happening now. We are truly a global partner."

Gilbert is keenly excited about the company's online presence and points to www.lenovo.com/voicesofthegames, where the company has 100 Olympic athletes blogging on ThinkPads through a Facebook application. "It allows Olympians to tell their stories in unvarnished and genuine ways," he says. Another Olympics 2.0 feature is at nbcolympics.com, where viewers can see the "Performance of the Day."

Lenovo is headquartered in Beijing and Raleigh, N.C.