Dell will release its first ad campaign as a private company Tuesday night, and it's a far cry from the "Dude, you're getting a Dell!" days.
The campaign, themed "Beginnings," plays up Dell's role as a purveyor of tech solutions that help new companies. The initial 60-second spot, which will air during Dick Clark’s New Year’s Rockin’ Eve With Ryan Seacrest on ABC, cites Skype, Shazam and Dropbox, among others, as startups that used Dell products.
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"At Dell, we're honored to be part of some of the world's great stories," a narrator says amid visuals of spartan offices of presumed startups. "Stories that began much in the same way ours did, in a little dorm room, number 2713." That room, of course, is where Michael Dell started his company at the University of Texas in 1984.
Michael Dell took his company private in late October despite opposition from some shareholders, including Carl Icahn. By doing so, the Dell founder hopes to transition the company from its PC heritage to one that makes mobile devices without scrutinization from press and investors.
Judging by this latest ad, the company also plans to put more emphasis on the B2B market. Aside from tablets, the consumer market has been a struggle for Dell recently, but that's not always been the case. In the early 2000s, at the height of "Dude, you're getting a Dell!" popularity, the company's consumer sales experienced strong growth.