FRIDAY FUNNY: When HP Tapped MP

HP (aka Hewlett-Packard) has been around for decades. Having arrived on the technology scene as an electronics manufacturer back in the 1930s, the company has been through several evolutionary waves and has managed to survive—and even thrive—up to the present. Pretty impressive, considering how so many other tech companies have either disappeared (who remembers Wang Laboratories or Digital Equipment Corporation?) or dwindled (IBM is a shadow of the Big Blue it once was).

Diversification may be one of the most obvious reasons HP has survived. The founders started out by making all kinds of equipment (including a precision audio oscillator), but according to Wikipedia, “The company was originally rather unfocused, working on a wide range of electronic products for industry and even agriculture. Eventually they elected to focus on high-quality electronic test and measurement equipment.”

Fast forward to the 1970s and 1980s, and the company gained a foothold in the very young personal computer and peripheral business. To spread the message, HP tapped the comedic genius of Monty Python‘s John Cleese, whose product endorsement may seem anything but glowing at times. Take a look at these clever/silly/memorable commercials, which are all from the HP website:


(Chips and bits of a bus!)


(note Cleese’s trademark the silly walk at the end)


(holy moly–look at that “portable” computer!)


(any excuse for bagpipes)


(shhh…don’t tell Mr. Prince)


(You need a better UPS, not just a vacation)


(archery gets the point across even better)


(voila!)