When your laptop sucks so bad you kill it with noodles

Wieden+Kennedy is back with another campaign for HP's PC gaming subsidiary HP Omen, this time taking a totally different tone.

A June campaign developed for Korean audiences by W+K Tokyo took on status culture in a narrated, slicky produced spot. For Chinese audiences, W+K Shanghai has created a short-form sitcom parody that goes ham on the visual effects and comedy. Ad Nut loves both pieces of work, and how tailored they are to local audiences.

'Frenemies' depicts a group of passionate gamers who furiously try to win a game, until one of the teammate's laptop conks out. Fury ensues, as the group each takes turns bashing the useless computer in imaginative ways before ultimately replacing it with—you guessed—a HP Omen.

The film is built upon the insight that Chinese gamers have a 'frenemy' relationship with each other, challenging their teammates to constantly up their game.

Creative director Tree Chan explains: "Kids in China are brought up to be kind and make more friends because it’s good for them. But to gamers, riling each other up is a funny form of teamwork and the best way to stoke their competitive spirits and win games. So their strongest teammates are not friends, but frenemies."

Nick Partyka, senior copywriter, goes on: "When we figured out how important rivalries are in a gamer’s friendships we immediately thought of sitcoms. Those shows we all know and love about a group of friends, who all live under one roof, and become better people together. We realized we had the perfect format to not only deliver our message, but even bigger than that, an opportunity to create culture to be shared and enjoyed within the gaming community."

The second film introduces the gaming team's "secret weapon song" as they egg each other on to succeed.

Follen See, senior art director, explains: "We took visual inspiration from wild WeChat gifs (China’s biggest social media platform) and wacky Japanese commercials and to establish an unique visual style for HP Omen. Gamers thrive in worlds of visual chaos, so we challenged ourselves to create an environment that felt familiar and yet simultaneously like nothing they've ever seen before."

HP Omen has been working with Wieden+Kennedy Shanghai since 2019.

Credits

AGENCY: Wieden+Kennedy Shanghai
CLIENT: HP OMEN
HP OMEN - “Frenemy” Press Release
PRODUCT: OMEN7
TITLE: FRENEMIES
EXECUTIVE CREATIVE DIRECTORS: Ian Toombs | Vivian Yong
CREATIVE DIRECTORS: Tree Chen
COPYWRITER: Nick Partyka
ART DIRECTOR: Follen See
HEAD OF DESIGN: Fish Ho
DESIGNER: Zhangzhe Peng
HEAD OF PLANNING: Renee Zhang
STRATEGIC PLANNER: Hubert Mou
GROUP ACCOUNT DIRECTOR : Linlin Shan
ACCOUNT MANAGER: Ted Zhou

Ad Nut is a surprisingly literate woodland creature that for unknown reasons has an unhealthy obsession with advertising. Ad Nut gathers ads from all over Asia and the world for your viewing pleasure, because Ad Nut loves you. You can also check out Ad Nut's Advertising Hall of Fame, or read about Ad Nut's strange obsession with 'murderous beasts'.