Lenovo Want Ashton Kutcher As More Than Just a Pretty Face

Nerval's Lobster writes "It's not clear whether managers at Lenovo were too starstruck to say 'no,' or whether the once-respected PC maker is having so much trouble hiring technical help it genuinely intends to allow lowbrow-sitcom staple Ashton Kutcher serve as both celebrity spokesman and full-on product engineer. Lenovo announced that it had hired Kutcher as a product engineer who will 'work with the company's engineering teams around the world to develop and market the Yoga line of tablets by providing input and decision-making into design, specifications, software and usage scenarios.' Kutcher – former Calvin Klein underwear model, star of such quality entertainment as That '70s Show, Punk'd, current star of Two-and-a-Half Men and, most recently, portrayer of Steve Jobs in the biopic Jobs – has a successful track record of investing in tech companies, Lenovo's announcement said as partial explanation for the arrangement. Kutcher also studied biomechanical engineering as an undergraduate at the University of Iowa, which USA Today and other news outlets used to help bolster the idea that the star of Dude, Where's My Car? could function effectively as part of an engineering product-development team. Kutcher did list his planned major at the university as biomechanical engineering when he enrolled in 1996, but he dropped out during the 1997-98 school year. He did found A-Grade Investments, which has been involved in or funded tech companies including Spotify, Path, Airbnb and Uber, according to Lenovo."

Comments

Hey, Apple did alright with Jobs

[ackthpt]

Who's to say someone who knows nothing about the industry doesn't have some useful input on Customer Experience?

Oh, sorry. Were we to also look down our be-spectacled noses at lowbrow actors?

Re:Hey, Apple did alright with Jobs

[petsounds]

Who's to say someone who knows nothing about the industry doesn't have some useful input on Customer Experience?

Sorry, I don't even understand what you're inferring from your title and this statement. You're saying Steve Jobs knew nothing about the computer industry? The industry he helped *start* by building mass-market products out of what was formerly a hobbyist-only, DIY field? The guy who helped design circuitboards for Atari arcade games in the 70s? Yeah, you're right, Jobs was totally on the same clueless level as the guy who portrayed him in a shoddy movie.

Re:Hey, Apple did alright with Jobs

[CaptainLard]

I'm not gonna suggest Kutcher is a visionary engineer but he is certainly not as stupid as the roles he plays. This is going to sound completely ridiculous.... but look up his speech from the 2013 teen choice awards. When you get over the screaming teeny boppers he is actually using his pulpit to give useful advice. You can hear the mood shift in the crowd. A good quote from the speech: "Opportunity looks a lot like hard work".

Re:Hey, Apple did alright with Jobs

[petsounds]

I don't really think Kutcher is clueless or stupid. I saw him speak on an internet panel event with the creator of tumblr and a couple other guys. He seems fairly intelligent, and has a decent nose for what will work and won't work on the internet. But being heavily involved in hardware product design? I think that's above his pay grade, unless this is the same sort of in-name-only product "design" as Lady Gaga being hired to be the creative director for Polaroid or any of the other celeb "designer" roles for technology companies. What makes this weirder is Lenovo's use of the term "engineer".

Re:Hey, Apple did alright with Jobs

[artor3]

Product engineers don't need to get too deep into hardware design. There are several disciplines involved in making an electronic product, including design, verification, test, manufacturing, packaging, etc. The product engineers are the big picture guys who get involved in a bit of each discipline and make sure that the final product will meet the markets demand while still be profitable to produce. It's kind of like a halfway point between engineering and management.

I don't know what his skill level is, but I could believe that he knows enough to be a real contributor and not just a pretty face.

Re:Hey, Apple did alright with Jobs

[ArbitraryName]

Jobs wasn't particularly technical, no. He worked for Atari as a technician, sure, but that's a very entry level job that any intelligent person could manage. He didn't "help design circuit boards". He was assigned that task once, for Breakout and he farmed it out to Woz. Jobs' success didn't come from any particular technical expertise. It came from charisma and intelligence, both of which he had plenty of. He mostly partnered with/hired extremely skilled technical people and used his skills to build a business around that.

Re:Hey, Apple did alright with Jobs

[djupedal]

But being heavily involved in hardware product design? I think that's above his pay grade,

Not as a brand, and surely that's what this is about. Lenovo is trying to nexus Kutcher's appeal outside China to help smooth the path into hearts and minds that may never be tempted to give their (Chinese) brand a second look otherwise. It worked for Nikon, as just one example. They are already enjoying headlines over it.

That, and they may have been forced to classify him as a unique technical asset (true or not), in order to get him on the payroll with Beijing's approval....

I worked inside Lenovo a few years back and I wish them the best today.

Someone isn't a fan..

[Anonymous Coward]

Someone isn't a fan.. I detect a little bit of bias.

Hollywood has helped before

[turkeydance]

Hedy Lamarr (/hdi/; 9 November 1914 – 19 January 2000)[1] was an American actress and inventor, celebrated for her great beauty, who was a contract star of MGM's "Golden Age."[2] Mathematically talented, she and composer George Antheil invented an early technique for spread spectrum communications and frequency hopping, necessary for wireless communication from the pre-computer age to the present day.[3][4]

Re:Hollywood has helped before

[Chemisor]

Are you seriously comparing Ashton Kutcher to Hedy Lamarr? Seriously? You ought to be banned from ever posting again on any forum.

Re:Hollywood has helped before

[readacc]

Nah, he's not an idiot. I think it was more to do with the fact that Hedy contributed some very important techniques to the communications world that facilitated the development of mobile communications, where as Ashton's very knowledgeable about technological trends. Good for him, but put plainly he doesn't compare in terms of capability or contribution as what Hedy has, apart from the fact they're both (or were) actors.

!Steve Jobs

[Anonymous Coward]

Did they confuse him with the real Steve Jobs after watching the Jobs movie?

Re:!Steve Jobs

[fermion]

That what I thought. It is like hiring Hugh Laurie to be your doctor, or plan your military Armageddon, or even better, be your prince regent.

Dell:Pothead :: Lenovo:Kutcher

[themushroom]

Instead of "Dude, you got a Dell!" it's "Dude, you got punked with a Lenovo!"

A computer to appeal to its older users, heh heh.

Ashton, unlock the bootloader

[martiniturbide]

Ashton, please don't forget the unlock the bootlader of Lenovo Android Products.
http://martin.iturbide.com/2013/07/why-you-have-to-stay-away-of-locked.html

I'm sure Ashton gets it, because Lenovo's QA team told me they can't do it.

Good For Him

[organgtool]

I'm not a fan of his movies nor do I subscribe to his fanboyism of Apple, but Ashton Kutcher follows technology more than any movie/tv star that I know of. I'm definitely curious to see how he pans out in this position.

Obviously Lenovo has never seen The Simpsons

[Anonymous Coward]

or they'd know all about The Homer (http://simpsons.wikia.com/wiki/The_Homer).

Those who do not pay attention to history are doomed to drive in it.

Does Kutcher have real tech skills?

[GodfatherofSoul]

Lots of people "study" engineering in college, then drop out after 2-3 semesters. From the article it looks like he made it 4-5? I recall some other musician being hired years back (Will I. Am?) as a PR stunt. Investing in tech companies doesn't imply tech knowledge either.

Why does the OP hate Kucher so much

[Anonymous Coward]

While I think it's valid to question what he would bring to the table (and he may bring great ideas, or he may bring no ideas. There's not a clear track record on this.), I'm curious why the author needed to mock the man when posting this summary. That doesn't feel particularly relevant or useful to aid in the conversation.

Sounds like somebody can't stand the idea...

[istartedi]

Sounds like somebody can't stand the idea that there might be people in this world who have brains *and* good looks. Maybe he's like a male version of Hedy Lamarr

Re:So What?

[R3d M3rcury]

Don't forget the old Apple Masters program as well. Though they didn't have jobs, they were very public about their use of Apple hardware (which was given to them, of course).

Honestly, Kutcher couldn't hurt...

[Radical Moderate]

if he has half a brain. Bought a Lenovo Twist last year, the thing's a disaster. The screen randomly dims itself, then brightens again, or not, depending on its mood. It's a laptop/tablet, but the orientation sensor is wonky, so sometimes it insists on displaying upside down, you have to futz with it for 10 minutes to get it right. Firmware updates haven't helped, and these problems are fairly common from what I see on das tubes. And the trackpad is a joke compared to my Macbook.

The thing feels like it was rushed out with no QC. I'm not sure hiring Ashton Kutcher will help, but it couldn't hoit.