Jenny Chan 陳詠欣
Dec 17, 2015

Watch: R2-D2's creator on why salesrobots, humanoids, and VPAs may be adland's Force

As the world awakens to the seventh episode of the Star Wars franchise today, Campaign Asia-Pacific revisits one of the series’ most beloved characters, R2-D2, and the technical wizard behind it.

The Star Wars brand is often associated with George Lucas, but R2-D2, the iconic stubby astromech droid, holds enduring appeal 38 years after it was built, kudos to Tony Dyson.

We asked the bubbly robotics guru whether it's marketing magic or something else that has maintained Artoo's popularity, and also got his take on the advertising impact of AI-enhanced machines, the future of selling, the fear of humanoids and — of course — BB-8, the adorable new droid in the latest installment in the saga, Star Wars: The Force Awakens.

(Editor's note: Special thanks to Noel McAvennie and Mark Stockill for helping with interview arrangements in Finland's Helsinki when Dyson spoke at the Nordic Digital Business Summit.)

 

 

Source:
Campaign Asia

Related Articles

Just Published

20 hours ago

Creative Minds: Jereek Espiritu pushes his ideas to ...

An intervention by a computer repairman drove Jereek Espiritu away from a career flying helicopters to a world of creative leaps and flights of fancy.

20 hours ago

UM launches Full Colour Media with a focus on ...

Full Colour Media is underpinned by a body of custom research conducted with more than 10,000 brands and with 5 million data points, culminating in a ‘Brand Patterns’ proprietary model designed to grow and differentiate brands.

22 hours ago

Campaign Global Agency of the Year Awards 2024: ...

With the final entry deadline for Agency of the Year Global fast approaching, we speak to judges who share their views on the biggest opportunities and challenges for 2025, and what they hope to see in winning entries.

22 hours ago

The 'laziest influencer' makes cleaning effortless—l...

S.C. Johnson's new mold-cleaning campaign features their least energetic spokesperson ever—a sloth whose main qualification is mastering the art of minimal effort.