HTC Corp (TPE:2498) has now officially announced its first global ad campaign with Robert Downey Jr., aka Iron Man. The struggling Taiwanese smartphone maker has signed a 2-year contract with the Hollywood superstar. HTC Corp (TPE:2498) chief marketing officer Benjamin Ho said in Taipei that it will be the company’s biggest ever ad campaign.
HTC Corp (TPE:2498) and Robert Downey Jr. agreed not to disclose terms of the deal. But John Reynolds and Mark Sweney of The Guardian report that the contract is worth about $12 million. HTC Corp (TPE:2498)’s share in the U.S. smartphone market has declined from 11.7% in 2011 to about 3%-4% this year. HTC Corp (TPE:2498) today posted a 16-second teaser video of the ad on YouTube.
Titled “The Change,” the ad campaign featuring Robert Downey Jr. will celebrate the impact HTC Corp (TPE:2498) has made on the global smartphone industry. It will first appear on Thursday, August 15 on YouTube, and then on TV and cinema slots across the world. It features Robert Downey Jr. as the creative director coming up with different acronyms for HTC such as “Here’s To Change,” “Hipster Troll Carwash” and “Huge Tinfoil Catamaran.”
Downey Jr. closely involved in creative process
HTC Corp (TPE:2498) CMO Benjamin Ho said that the Iron Man actor was closely involved in the creative direction of the ad campaign. According to James Rogers of The Street, the ad will offer a “playful take” on the HTC Corp (TPE:2498) brand. The second phase will focus on the company’s innovations. And the third phase will showcase how HTC Corp (TPE:2498) smartphones make a change in the people’s lives. Earlier this year, the company unveiled the HTC One high end smartphone. But the product didn’t do well due to fierce competition from Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd. (LON:BC94) (KRX:005930) and Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL).
The ad campaign comes at a time when HTC Corp (TPE:2498) is trying to rebuild its brand. The Taiwanese company has stated that it estimates it will incur a loss of 1% to 8% in the current quarter. It will be the first quarterly loss for the company since it went public about a decade ago.
However, Benjamin Ho is optimistic about the company. HTC Corp (TPE:2498) shares dipped 0.63% to 158 Taiwanese dollar in Taipei Stock Exchange.
