Buy a Dell laptop today, or at least apply to work in their factory

Dell laptops aren't made by a largely indifferent workforce in Taiwan or South Korea, but in a happy U.S. factory where the singing never stops. At least, that's the conceit in this new ad from Mother, New York, which features jolly workers singing the 1958 Chordettes hit "Lollipop" as the Wonka-esque factory cuts colorful laptops out of a gum-like substance that has been stamped by an elephant's foot. The idea is to highlight the candy-colored nature PCs made by a company known for clinging to beige way too long. Dell has pointed out the array of laptop colors before in ads, which seemed a (way) belated response to Apple's 1998 "Bondi Blue" iMacs. But there's no denying this ad is playing to Dell's strength—its wholesome image. Lord knows former Dell CMO Mark Jarvis tried to make Dell edgy, but that's hard to do when your CEO looks like Peter Brady.

—Posted by Todd Wasserman