HP wants to warn its customers of the threat posed by cyberattacks. In order to to make its point, it has turned to a man who plays one of TV’s most notable hackers. Christian Slater, who portrays a prominent character in the cyber-drama Mr. Robot, is the star of The Wolf, a branded web series created by the content-focused HP Studios department.
In The Wolf, Slater plays a similar hacker who wages war against a pregnable company. The clear goal of the series is to use Slater’s Wolf as an example for potential HP clients. Use our services to secure your devices, and you’ll be better defended against potential cyberattacks, the show seems to say. In the first episode, The Wolf uses a printer as his base of operations, underscoring one of HP’s points. “Cyberattacks on enterprises across the world are only increasing,” said Vikrant Batra, global head of marketing for imaging and printing at HP. “There have been several hacks in companies where folks have gotten in through the printer.”
The Wolf, with its blend of charm, tech jargon, and brooding music, is a fairly obvious homage to Mr. Robot, and HP does not seem to be hiding that connection. The company chose Slater for The Wolf’s lead role because of his “ability to play a charmingly sinister hacker, combined with his popularity in the cybersecurity world.”
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Adweek describes The Wolf as a “year-long” series, so we’re expecting more Slater on the HP Studios YouTube channel in the near future.
