Cannes Lions

Dear Future Me

HEWLETT-PACKARD, Palo Alto / HEWLET-PACKARD / 2021

Awards:

1 Shortlisted Cannes Lions
Film
1 of 0 items

Overview

Entries

Credits

OVERVIEW

Background

HP has a unique brand journalism team that produces brand films with corporate messaging goals, like fostering education initiatives. After the pandemic hit, HP wanted to tell a story of the “new normal” through the eyes of students. When they heard about a letter writing program in a local NJ school, they knew this was the perfect story to tell.

Dear Future Me’s objective was to capture the hope, resilience and optimism that these students embody and to encourage all viewers to feel optimistic about their futures. Their spirit of “reinvention” speaks directly to the brand’s core mission and purpose. The goals were to drive video views, social media engagement, earned media placements and click throughs to HP’s content site The Garage. Another key goal was to associate the HP brand with the power and importance of education. Target audiences were young people (under 25) and parents of all ages.

Idea

Every June at Maplewood Middle School in suburban New Jersey, 6th-grade students participate in an end-of-the-year rite of passage: they compose a letter to their future 18-year-old selves. This extracurricular assignment not only encourages middle schoolers to reflect on who they are, but to imagine who they might become. After the letters are written and sealed, two dedicated teachers safely lock them away for six years....and wait. When these same students are ready to graduate high school, the teachers mail the letters back to the student authors.

For 25 years, no one was allowed behind the curtain to witness the poignant moment when the contents of these letters are revealed, until now. Filmed during the COVID-19 pandemic, the tradition takes on an even deeper meaning during our uncertain times, as the students grapple with quarantine rules, safety concerns, and missing daily real-life contact with their friends and teachers.

Strategy

The strategy was to release Dear Future Me as a true short documentary film that would be viewed by consumers as a doc film, NOT branded entertainment. The brand was not integrated into the film with obvious product placement. Instead, the brand took a back seat by only being in the opening and closing, yet took a front seat by connecting via PR, social and digital channels. The film was pitched and supported by a team of Hollywood publicists and film marketing experts, instead of a traditional brand agency.

Execution

An amazing team of award winning directors who have worked with Ken Burns and the NY Times were engaged to produce and direct DEAR FUTURE ME. They filmed during the height of the pandemic following stringent Covid restrictions. It was released in two parts on HP’s YouTube channel in early September, at the start of the new school year. To accompany the films, a dynamic landing page was created on HP.com, that showcased the film, articles and programs that support students and educators alike. The film had its media premiere on The Today Show, on a 100% earned basis crediting HP in an unprecedented 15 minute segment. The film was submitted to dozens of top tier film festivals as well as major Hollywood streaming outlets.

Outcome

The film has been viewed over 300,000 times on YouTube alone, and was the brand’s top performer in 2020. Dear Future Me was an official selection in six film festivals, including the NY International Children's Film Festival, an Academy accredited festival. On the Today Show, host Hoda Kotb said: “Wow, my God, that was so beautiful and very powerful. It just took our breath away.” Dozens of media outlets lauded the film, including The Kelly Clarkson show, which created a segment about a student who never received his letter, until now, which they covered “live.” This was the first brand funded film EVER to be featured on the show. The film is available on Amazon Prime, Apple TV, and Google Play for the world to see.

Key results:

-75 million total media impressions

-Over 20 major media placements

-Social media campaign with influencer Mayim Bialik generated 435,000 impressions

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