V-Tech Posted June 21, 2013 Share Posted June 21, 2013 HTC has signed Robert Downey Jr. to star in a global marketing deal at a $12 million cost, according to a report from Bloomberg. The Taiwanese handset vendor posted net income of less than $3 million in Q1 2013. HTC would be committing to the pricey marketing campaign at a time when sales of the Samsung Galaxy S4 are widely speculated to be slowing down shockingly soon after its spring launch. Apple?s iPhone volume growth slowed down sharply in the first quarter and its spring sales are expected to be muted. Could this be the right moment for HTC to try to revamp its brand image? According to Bloomberg, Downey Jr. will appear as himself, not as Iron Man or Sherlock Holmes, the two characters that he helped turn into billion-dollar franchises over the past couple of years. As Tom Cruise turns steadily creepier and Will Smith suffers a humiliating setback with After Earth, Downey Jr. is arguably the biggest Hollywood actor in the world at the moment. It would be highly unusual for a second-tier smartphone vendor to employ a star of this magnitude in a marketing campaign. Nokia used Pamela Anderson in widely mocked ads during 2010 to promote its star-crossed N8 smartphone. BlackBerry recently hired Alicia Keys as a spokesperson. HTC would take the celebrity game to another level with this new move. http://bgr.com/2013/06/21/htc-robert-downey-jr-campaign/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+Warwagon MVC Posted June 21, 2013 MVC Share Posted June 21, 2013 Hmm.. Well they can't do any worse. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dick Montage Posted June 21, 2013 Share Posted June 21, 2013 HTC - it'll stop you being a gun wielding heroin abuser! ;) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Growled Member Posted June 21, 2013 Member Share Posted June 21, 2013 I'm not sure anything can save them at this point. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
V-Tech Posted June 21, 2013 Author Share Posted June 21, 2013 I'm not sure anything can save them at this point. Maybe, but I would start with a new management and see how it goes. They make good products, they just need to focus.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phouchg Posted June 21, 2013 Share Posted June 21, 2013 He should appear as Kirk Lazarus and take stabs at Samsung. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Growled Member Posted June 22, 2013 Member Share Posted June 22, 2013 They make good products.... That's debatable. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Osiris Posted June 22, 2013 Share Posted June 22, 2013 That's debatable. welll you could argue that about any product manufactuerer... They've been a successful company who were in the smart phone before they were even called smart phones, they've just failed to innovate and invest correctly in marketing and building strategic partnerships in recent years. Their move to position the company as largely Android based has also fallen over with heavy competition from Samsung. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Argi Posted June 22, 2013 Share Posted June 22, 2013 In before "posted using Twitter for iPhone." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Razorwing Posted June 22, 2013 Share Posted June 22, 2013 ...but he is .. Iron Man. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EmbraceNext Posted June 22, 2013 Share Posted June 22, 2013 The HTC One is the best product they have made so far and is arguably the best Android phone out there (if you don't need to swap batteries). I think they could be on their way but they need to put out another great product next time around or else this was just a fluke and they will crash and burn. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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