- Reaction score
- 1,701
Opinion: HP's printer business practices have infuriated users for years.
HP knows people have grown to hate printers. It even knows that people hate HP printers. But based on a new marketing campaign the company launched, HP is OK with that—so long as it can convince people that there are worse options out there.
The marketing campaign hitting parts of Europe aims to present HP as real and empathetic. The tagline "Made to be less hated" seems to acknowledge people's frustration with printers. But HP's a top proponent of the exact sort of money-grabbing, disruptive practices that have turned people against printers.
Three short HP video ad campaigns detailed by Marketing Communication News include one with a customer supremely frustrated with his printer's low ink warning. He kicks his hardware off the table before words appear saying, "No more low ink with HP ink solutions." Another HP video brags of "no more installation fails" and points to HP's Smart app. Both of these claims fall apart with a look at HP's recent and poorly executed firmware rollouts.
HP's approach to pushing ink and toner sales is controversial. HP has infamously bricked functioning ink and toner cartridges because they weren't HP brand. Dynamic security, as HP calls it, has resulted in numerous class-action lawsuits, and HP has paid out settlements, including in the US, Europe, and Australia.
arstechnica.com
HP knows people have grown to hate printers. It even knows that people hate HP printers. But based on a new marketing campaign the company launched, HP is OK with that—so long as it can convince people that there are worse options out there.
The marketing campaign hitting parts of Europe aims to present HP as real and empathetic. The tagline "Made to be less hated" seems to acknowledge people's frustration with printers. But HP's a top proponent of the exact sort of money-grabbing, disruptive practices that have turned people against printers.
Three short HP video ad campaigns detailed by Marketing Communication News include one with a customer supremely frustrated with his printer's low ink warning. He kicks his hardware off the table before words appear saying, "No more low ink with HP ink solutions." Another HP video brags of "no more installation fails" and points to HP's Smart app. Both of these claims fall apart with a look at HP's recent and poorly executed firmware rollouts.
HP's approach to pushing ink and toner sales is controversial. HP has infamously bricked functioning ink and toner cartridges because they weren't HP brand. Dynamic security, as HP calls it, has resulted in numerous class-action lawsuits, and HP has paid out settlements, including in the US, Europe, and Australia.
HP misreads room, awkwardly brags about its “less hated” printers
Opinion: HP's printer business practices have infuriated users for years.
