February 22, 2012, 11:51 AM — Normally, a video produced by a corporate entity wouldn't merit much discussion, especially when it's a mini-documentary of an artist talking about how he uses technology in his work, blah blah blah. I've seen a million of these, not very interesting.
But then there's Dell, which produced this video as part of its "Visual Innovators" series, highlighting well, something. This one is about Clatyon Sotos, a photographer who "gathers inspiration from city life."
Dell even posts a warning before you watch the video: "Due to the conceptual nature of Clayton's art, some images in this video may be considered graphic for some viewers."
OK, I'm in.
OK, I'm out.
Is this a prank? Some kind of hipster stunt that I'm missing? Am I too old to understand this? Is this really Dell doing this? Am I supposed to be inspired into buying Dell computers because some photographer uses them to take photos of naked people expunging gas?
I miss the days when Dell was using the hipster guy who said, "Dude, you're getting a Dell!". If that guy told me this after watching this video, I'd probably say, "Umm, dude, you can keep that Dell - I'm not sure where that thing has been."
Seriously, what am I missing here?
There's a lot of discussion on Reddit about whether this is fake or not. Even if it's a parody not endorsed by Dell, I'd get the lawyers on it pronto. If this was sponsored by Dell, I think they have some explaining to do - even if it's just to clear up what this video is supposed to be selling me.
UPDATE: The folks at Gizmodo are calling shenanigans on it; the Dell Twitter account" also has a post up saying that it's not their video, and yet they seem to be OK with it:
"This video is in no way affiliated with Dell, but it’s great to see creative professionals get inspiration from using our products. Our dell.com/takeyourownpath program is all about celebrating people who take their own professional path. Regarding this parody, we consider imitation to be the sincerest form of flattery."
Still, I'm sticking with my Mac.
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