I am confused as I write this. Before reading ahead, you need to see the same video that left me with a baffled look on my face. I feel as if I just got back from my own high school days once filled with acne, confused teenagers, long hair, and Motorola RAZRs. The video is titled “Moto 06.09.16”, likely the date for a new phone to launch or to hold an unveiling event.
Lenovo quietly released this ad, on Motorola Mobility’s YouTube channel, set in a high school with a bunch of adolescents living through their high school phases. The ad starts with a girl sending a text message to Tyler saying “ILYSM” (meaning ‘I love you so much’, back when we used to text with acronyms).
After that, the camera rolls past a bunch of other kids who are either in a phone call, answering the phone, or generally engaged with their RAZRs. The vibe is set with the song in the background called “The Great Escape” by a band called “Boys Like Girls”. While I could sit and analyze the story going on, that’s not what matters. The point of the video is to tap into viewer’s nostalgia. We even get a “Hello Moto” at the end of the video. Oh yeah, nostalgia.
What do you make of it? Why would Lenovo use an ad like this to tease its newest flagship device? It just doesn’t add up in my head for some reason. Could Lenovo’s new flagship be as successful as the Motorola RAZR was? Could Lenovo be releasing a clam-shell smartphone? Could Lenovo be targeting the millennial demographic? At this point there are more questions than answers.
The Motorola RAZR was one of the most successful clamshell cellular devices in the world. Lenovo thinks it can use Motorola’s legendary history to gain attention across the globe for its upcoming flagship device. This will be the first Moto flagship that Lenovo will release since the acquisition of Motorola has been completed.
