Lenovo Goes Viral For W700ds Workstation

Lenovo is trying its hand at viral marketing with a new ad for its W700ds workstation.

Posted to YouTube, the commercial features an after-hours work session where the features of the laptop are highlighted, as well as some suggestive scenes that IBM, the stately company that sold its PC division to Lenovo, would never have dreamed of producing.

The premise is pretty straightforward. Two male co-workers are sitting in an office when one starts to tell his friend about the hours he put in with a female co-worker the night before. Cut to what looks like a dining room table in an apartment. A man and woman sit across from one another with laptops open.

As the male colleague starts to tell his female colleague about the benefits of his Lenovo workstation, she starts to take off articles of clothing to "make it a little more interesting." Eventually, just as the second screen pops out the side of the workstation, the female, we're led to believe, is totally nude.

The scene then jumps back to the office where both guys congratulate each other on the Lenovo W700ds.

A spokesperson from Lenovo confirmed that it is something that the company itself produced, noting in an e-mail that they'd just finished shooting it.

As far as tech advertising goes, there have been worse ads made in the past 12 months. Sure, the premise has been used before -- but at least there's no mention of churros or comfortable shoes as in Microsoft's ad campaign; ditto for Apple's Mac talking down to a bespectacled PC proponent.

Is the viral video a little edgy? It could be for some workplaces, but it's pretty tame compared to some things. And it actually talks about the product that is being advertised.

For a video designed to go viral while actually talking about a product, there's been worse. Could the idea use a little bit of an update? Sure. But it seems likely that Lenovo will keep hammering away at its product line, trying to get it noticed.