Ashton Kutcher Lenovo Partnership Is More Than A Lucrative Endorsement Deal

Ashton Kutcher’s Lenovo announcement makes it seem like the actor has taken his Steve Jobs role from earlier this year to heart. The actor has taken on the position of product engineer for the computer manufacturer. The announcement was made last night at the launch of the company’s new Yoga tablet.

Kutcher has taken a few pointers from the Jobs handbook.

And if you’re thinking Kutcher doesn’t really have the experience, beyond portraying Jobs in a poorly-received movie, but you’d be wrong. Kutcher is, in fact, a college dropout – Iowa University, majoring in biochemical engineering – he dropped out before completing his degree to pursue a modelling career. Beyond that, however, since he achieved success in the acting industry, Kutcher has been investing in numerous tech startups and has generally been keeping abreast of the trends in the world of technology.

The actor made it clear that this would be a meaningful partnership.

In his presentation, aptly reminiscent of Steve Jobs’ Apple keynotes, Kutcher explained the duties he’d be taking on – namely traveling around the world and providing input on the development of the Yoga tablets, in terms of customer experience and functionality. Beyond the superficial characteristics, Kutcher’s role will extend to the actual functions and characteristics of the product, as he himself explained. Kutcher told Wired: "I’m an actual product engineer, and I know that’s hard for people to understand because so many of these [celebrity endorsement] relationships have been vanity products.

"I actually am less interested in the color of the phone or tablet than in how it works. I hope I’ll be able to bring some new ideas to tablet development."

This also means that Kutcher will have to balance this new position with his Two and a Half Men engagement, for which he still holds the title of the highest paid actor in television.

Kutcher will have to balance the new partnership with his acting engagements.