Oneupweb Reviews: Ashton Kutcher’s Facebook series ‘ Katalyst HQ’

Well, Ashton Kutcher you got the “mundane” down, now where does the funny come in?

Ashton Kutcher’s production company, Katalyst Media, launched its third attempt at a web series. This latest attempt appeared on Facebook Wednesday and was a first for the social networking site and app-maker Slide.

“Katalyst HQ” is a semi-scripted look at a production company with Ashton Kutcher at the helm.

I was hoping for “Office Space” meets “That 70s Show”, but instead the first episode, “Method Acting,” was literally cheesy—and I mean Frito Lay Cheetos brand cheesy!

The series opens with two men fighting over a bag of Cheetos and ends with a bomb taped under a “Chester Cheetah” Frisbee. Outside of that there was just a bunch of fighting and Kutcher testing just how allergic a man is to apples by shoving the fruit down the guy’s throat.

Kutcher told Advertising Age the goal of the series is to merge Hollywood with Madison & Vine by producing a “whole new model of content.” His plan with “Katalyst HQ” is to take “mudane” office life at a production company and show just how funny it is.

Am I missing something?

I’m in the key age demographic of 18-34, but this series doesn’t relate to me and there aren’t any celebrities who stop by to add star power. It’s the equivalent of me running naked, Mt. Dew can in hand, to take a dip in the Grand Traverse Bay outside the Oneupweb office at lunch time—NOT PRETTY!

Kutcher has an opportunity to view Hollywood through the eyes of his production company and he really didn’t do it with this first episode. Short, mini webisodes that appear after the first two-minute video were closer and slightly funnier.

One of those mini episodes stages a “how to” on getting passed security at the Sundance film festival, which was basically one girl flashing another coworker pretending to be a security guard while another
girl sneaks through a door. It wasn’t even at Sundance.

Don’t worry, Ashton. I still have faith in your ability to merge promotion with stupid, funny, mindless antics that make me laugh.

Despite being disappointed with the initial webisode, I’m excited that social apps are supporting this type of entertainment.

As soon as Kutcher figures out this new content strategy, doors will open for marketers looking to target that key Gen-Y demographic.

Official Oneupweb Review: Oneup Thumbs-Down.