Intel, Toshiba Team on Branded Online Video Series: Inside Experience

Here's something cool. Two tech heavyweights have teamed up to create a pseudo-branded online video series. I saw some ads for it on Hulu and was reminded to write about it today. The Inside Experience will star Emmy Rossum, Fiona of Shameless (YUM!), and er...what was I saying?

The Inside Experience is about Christina, who is stuck in a room with only a Sandy-Bridge powered Toshiba Satellite laptop and an Internet connection (and social network access), but otherwise knows nothing else about her own location. Clever, no? Here's how they describe the series on their website:

This is a completely new genre of Hollywood-class entertainment where the audience can play as much of a role as the A-list talent and actors. Using social media you can interact with characters in real time, affect the plot, and possibly earn a featured cameo alongside Emmy Rossum in the final film.

So if you want to get involved you can do so through Twitter and Facebook, which might then get put into the series. Here's a screenshot of the "wall" at the Inside Experience:

Ryan Baker, an Intel OEM marketing director called it entertainment of tomorrow since they are the Sponsors of Tomorrow, it makes sense.

Here's a YouTube video that is part trailer, part behind-the-scenes featurette:

This is totally what we've been talking about. It's not really beat-you-over-the-head branded content, and yet it is. But it's more than that, it's a culmination of gamification, online video, branded content and massive user engagement. All in all, I'm totally wrapped up in it. Can't write anymore, must go save Christina!