HP 'prints' trees in environmental push highlighting its forest planting efforts

As pressure rises for brands to become environmentally conscious, HP has created a campaign to counteract the negative image of one of its products—printers. Consumers care more now about what brands are doing to be eco-friendly, according to consumer tracking data. HP is aiming to change the image of printing—which is rife with deforestation and pollution—with a campaign that alludes to the company’s tree-planting work. Conceived after HP late last year announced a partnership of $80 million with World Wildlife Fund, “Printing trees” from Wieden+Kennedy Portland aligns with the brand’s professed aim to become “the world’s most sustainable and just technology company,” as stated by President and CEO Enrique Lores in the company’s 2020 Sustainable Impact Report. The spot, intended to highlight the company’s commitment in its WWF partnership to planting trees spanning 1 million acres, shows trees and greenery shooting up in a forest to the sounds of pages being printed. It will run online and on TV, including local New York TV broadcast stations, as well as national cable outlets CNBC, Bloomberg and MSNBC. Don’t miss the latest news. Sign up for Ad Age newsletters here. The campaign falls in line with the company’s past efforts towards sustainability. This year, HP reached its twentieth year of putting out sustainable impact reports and announced climate action goals ranging from achieving carbon neutrality to keeping zero deforestation for HP paper. For the 2021 Summer Olympics, HP ran a campaign that partly centered around sustainability in an ad focusing on climate change and the company’s work on plastic pollution. Sustainability was also part of the spot’s production process. The company planted 40 trees in the Amazon to counteract the carbon footprint of production. Award-winning French directors Megaforce (Burberry's "Festive") makes clever use of time-lapse photography together with sound design to make the trees seem as if they are what's being "printed" as they shoot forth leaves, buds and a habitat for birds and animals. The music is from British composer, Ben Salisbury, ("Ex Machina"), Emmy-nominated for his nature scores with David Attenborough. (Speaking of Attenborough, the spot is also strongly reminiscent of the style of his new BBC series, The Green Planet, which shows plants growing over time). Cinematography is by Greig Fraser ("Dune," "The Mandalorian," "Vice") working with a post-production team at Kevin. The spot ends with a voiceover asking "who would have thought printing could lead to growing trees?" and a reminder that "With HP+ we regenerate forest for every page you print."

HP 'prints' trees in environmental push highlighting its forest planting efforts

Featured Stories