HP brings improv comedy to the Internet era with YouTube, Rob Riggle, UCB, and ePrint

[#1]

If you’ve ever seen an improvisational comedy performance (perhaps at The Groundlings in L.A. or Chicago’s Second City), you know that it isn’t a necessarily a passive experience.  The performers often rely on cues and suggestions from the audience to shape the storylines and jokes in real-time.

Although this kind of comedy has historically lent itself to small venues, later this week HP is taking this unique live experience worldwide and online.

Beginning Friday, January 21, at 3pm ET, members of the Upright Citizens Brigade will join actor Rob Riggle (The Hangover, The Daily Show) in performing audience-suggested improvisations on YouTube.

In a post today, tech blog Mashable explains:

“The two-hour show, dubbed HP ePrint Live, will be hosted by comedian Rob Riggle and simultaneously broadcast on the HP for Home Facebook Page.  Viewers can send in ideas for skits by e-mailing their submission to one of HP’s Internet-connected ePrint printers on the stage”

And the live show is just the start.  For the five days following, the UCB Theatre actors will continue to create custom comedy shorts on demand and at lightning speed. If a skit idea is selected for performance, it will be posted to YouTube and sent back to whoever suggested it.

Here’s how to get involved

Send a note, a picture, a song, a drawing -- whatever strikes you -- to ideas@hpeprintlive.com (note – this email will not be live until launch on January 21^st). If your suggestion is used, we’ll send you a video link to your own comedy masterpiece.

Watch HP ePrint Live on January 21^st from 12-2pm PDT/3-5pm EDT on YouTube and Facebook. RSVP to the Facebook event or tune in to Twitter with @HP_IPG and hashtag #eprintlive.

Learn more about the talent

Rob Riggle - Home page, Wikipedia, IMBD, Twitter profile

Upright Citizens Brigade - Home page, Wikipedia

What is ePrint?

HP ePrint technology harnesses the cloud to allow people to securely send the files they want to print directly from their mobile devices to their printer’s email unique address. Each HP ePrint-enabled printer comes with its own unique email address.  If you can email it, you can print it.

More on the ePrint campaign

The New York Times advertising columnist Stuart Elliott dives deep on the marketing strategy behind HP ePrint Live in his January 17, 2011, column:

“A mainstay of early television – live commercials demonstrating products like Polariod cameras and Timex watches – is making a comeback, updated for a new century by migrating to new media.”