Hewlett Packard: Catch - Ad Analysis
AI Editor notes
Straight from the gut!!
“This is a classic example of early 2010s 'twee' advertising. The indie folk music, the whimsical, handcrafted aesthetic... it's all there. The strategy is solid—make a boring utility product feel magical and emotional. But does it have teeth? It's so gentle and sweet it might not stick. It was a clever way to make printing feel relevant in a digital world, but the execution feels a bit dated today.”
Quick Summary
This ad successfully translates a functional tech feature—remote printing—into a powerful emotional benefit. By focusing on the story of a grandmother instantly receiving a tangible memory from her vacationing family, HP sells the feeling of connection, not just the convenience of its ePrint technology. The ad makes the product feel like a bridge across physical distance.
Executive Summary
This HP spot is a strong example of translating a technical feature into a human-centric story. In 2011, as digital photo sharing via social media was becoming the norm, the act of printing was at risk of seeming obsolete. HP’s challenge was to re-contextualize the printer not as a legacy office machine, but as a modern tool for emotional connection.
The Core Insight: The central idea is that a tangible, printed photograph holds a different, more permanent emotional weight than a fleeting digital image. The ad hinges on the insight that in an increasingly disconnected world, technology can be a bridge, and receiving a physical token of a moment closes the emotional gap that physical distance creates.
The Execution: The ad uses a simple Setup-Turn-Payoff structure, wrapped in a whimsical, theatrical visual style.
- Setup: The ad opens with a familiar, melancholic moment: a family saying goodbye to a grandmother at the airport. This establishes the emotional problem of separation and distance.
- Turn: The narrative takes a magical turn. Instead of a realistic depiction of a vacation, we enter a storybook world where the family fishes on a sea of fabric. This stylistic choice is key; it signals that we are in the realm of feeling, not literal reality. The pivotal action is the father taking a photo, which then physically flies from his phone. This is the 'magic trick' that represents the ePrint technology.
- Payoff: The photo’s journey ends at the grandmother's home, where it prints out instantly. The initial sadness from the airport scene is resolved with her warm smile as she holds the tangible memory. The voiceover then lands the product message, explicitly linking the magical outcome to HP's new web-connected printers. The payoff is the feeling of being connected in the moment, despite being miles apart.
The Debrief: The campaign’s strength lies in its refusal to lead with technology. It leads with a universal human story and uses the technology as the enabler of the happy resolution. The stylized production design gives the brand a warm, approachable personality, differentiating it from more sterile, feature-focused tech advertising. The lesson here is that the most effective way to launch a new feature is to demonstrate the feeling it creates, not just the function it performs. It made printers about sharing, not just printing.
Theme Keywords
Brand Position
HP is the technology that bridges emotional distance and makes sharing memories feel human and magical.
Brand Archetype
Caregiver
Creative Game Plan
Demonstrate that HP's new ePrint technology can magically close the distance between loved ones by turning a digital moment into a tangible memory, instantly.
Diagnosis: Issues & Solutions
Primary Issue: Strategic Sense
The Problem:
The ad's core premise, while emotionally resonant, is built entirely on the act of printing photos. Even in 2011, this was a behavior in decline. The strategy ties the brand's innovation to an aging habit, potentially limiting the long-term relevance of the message.
The Solution:
Broaden the concept from 'printing' to 'sharing.' The end card could have shown the photo appearing simultaneously on the printer and a digital frame, positioning HP as a hub for sharing memories in any format, physical or digital, thus future-proofing the insight.
Secondary Issue: Emotional Connection
The Problem:
The emotional tone is one of gentle warmth, which is pleasant but may not be strong enough to be truly arresting or memorable amidst a sea of other ads. It's sweet, but it doesn't quite land a powerful emotional punch.
The Solution:
Amplify the climax. A tighter shot on the grandmother's face as she reacts to the photo, perhaps intercut with the family's joy on the boat, could create a more powerful sense of a shared, simultaneous experience, heightening the emotional impact.