Hard drive plays matchmaker for HP, MTV

Is it possible to find your soul-mate by searching through the contents of his/her computer hard drive? It may sound impossible, but it’s happening on ‘Meet or Delete’, a reality show that opens today on MTV and is being made in association with Hewlett-Packard (HP). The show (an AFP, or advertiser funded programme) has been tailor-made for HP and is an extension of the company’s recently unveiled global marketing campaign, ‘The Computer is Personal Again’. The show helps you find dates, buddies or like-minded people by using just one route – the hard drive.

‘Meet or Delete’ is an idea that took birth in the US, but the show has made its debut in the Asia Pacific only now. It is targeted at the young generation and makes an attempt to help people from across the country explore relationships and find a date, buddy or just get to know someone. A participant in this contest achieves all this by gaining complete access to another participant’s computer.

Deepti Dang, marketing manager, personal systems group, HP India, says, “‘Meet or Delete’ offers a fascinating look at the degree to which the youth now live their lives online. We at HP believe that computers are an extension of one’s personality.”

“There is so much that one can learn about a person by peeping into his/her computer or just by looking at the kind of files he/she saves, the music he/she listens to, etc.,” she says.

This is how the show works. Profiles of interested contestants are gathered from across the country. The contestants are asked to fill out a form which chalks out their preferences and choices. The first episode features a Mumbai college girl who will be given unlimited access to the computers of three potential dates she has never met. The girl will make an attempt to get to know the guys by browsing through their hard drives. She will check their e-mail, music play lists, pictures, recently visited websites, video files, IMs with their friends and other such things.

Since the show is an AFP, HP intends to leverage heavily on its brand proposition by engaging its target audience. According to executives at the company, ‘Meet or Delete’ can be seen as a convergence of content and advertising in a creative way and HP’s brand message will be delivered in a subtle and creative manner, rather than just having the brand present heterogeneously in the show. The theme of the show runs parallel to HP’s marketing campaign and the show focuses on the highly individual and personal relationships people have with their computers.

HP’s worldwide campaign includes traditional, web and viral marketing elements such as the ‘Meet or Delete’ series and the online community across key countries in North America, Europe, Latin America and Asia.

Whether this mix of brand and programme will prove a hit is for time to tell.

© 2006 agencyfaqs!