Trust the zaniacs at Toronto-based zig’s digital subsidiary, Push Interactive, to come up with a wild way to hype Toshiba Canada’s Satellite A300 and Qosmio laptops.

Targeting students heading to university, ‘Ask the Sherpa’ is a goofy online shtick offering supposedly sage advice from a weathered, heavily laden mountain guide. Site visitors can ask any pressing questions they wish about their academic careers and futures, and the Sherpa will answer.

What kind of answers does he give? MiC wouldn’t dream of spoiling the fun by describing them. So check out the Himalayan hero in action at www.askthesherpa.ca, and also on YouTube at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5o0fXI3Eqt4 and http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7KV9Wl0Xt8w.

Toshiba marketing communications spokesperson Sherry Lyons explains why the sherpa theme was green-lighted for the campus campaign: ‘The connection makes perfect sense, but it’s off-the-wall enough to intrigue and engage our fickle audience.

‘A sherpa is a guide that holds all of the essentials for embarking on a trek. Similarly, a laptop serves as a guide for students embarking on a journey to self-discovery and independence, and holds all of their essentials: social networks, school work, mp3s and photos.’

To make the sherpa proposition more enticing, Toshiba is offering students who register online or on their mobiles the chance to win a Himalayan adventure for two.

With media handled by zig’s new in-house media department, the Sherpa campaign is being promoted via online banners, mall posters, video teasers on popular websites, viral videos, cinema ads and posters, all of which drive to the website.