Zeff Davies
I happen to really like Toshiba computers, and, yes, probably you think I’m saying that because this post is sponsored by Intel and Toshiba. But I’m not, and it’s true. My Toshiba notebook is sitting next to me as I type this on a much more crazy-making notebook. (I won’t tell you the name of the manufacturer, but its initials are HP.) The Toshiba would still be my primary computer if I hadn’t spilled coffee on it and disabled the m, n and , keys. And may I point out that, while Toshiba built my notebook tough, they have no way of protecting idiotic users from themselves.
So it’s great to welcome Toshiba and Intel, whose chips make my Toshiba purr, as advertisers on backofthebook.ca, with this extremely cool webisodic, “The Power Inside.”
This is a welcome step forward in internet marketing. No badly designed graphics (like those ads with the rotting banana and the guy clutching his rolls of fat that are disgustingly ubiquitous on the web these days). No pre-roll that might or might not let you click through to what you really want to watch. Instead, you get this “insanely creepy” (to quote its main character) story that’s a sort of combination of Invaders from Mars and “The Walking Dead,” with all the freakishness of the former and the production values of the latter. Craig Roberts gives a terrific performance as Neil, the kid who learns to save the world through better barbering. The script is witty as well as creepy. And, holy crap — isn’t that Harvey freakin Keitel waving that straight-razor around?!
Six episodes of sweetness. Click above, or visit here, and watch them all. And maybe Toshiba, Intel, and their cool agency, Unruly Media, will advertise with us again, and we won’t have to run any more of those rotting banana ads.
