Hotels.com®, the online accommodation site that’s always been clear about what it does and what it stands for, has launched a clever new creative campaign to show why it is the obvious choice for booking hotels.
The new campaign – ‘The Obvious Choice™’ – light-heartedly brings to life a funny character that has existed in pop culture for decades. Through the creative execution, Hotels.com debuts a fictional world traveler and the brand’s new biggest fan, Captain Obvious™.
The launch spot broke on February 23rd during popular cable programming and will continue to run on major networks and adjacent to hit TV shows in the US and Canada. The campaign, which will also include Captain Obvious social media activations, email marketing, radio spots, cinema, and online banners and video, represents the biggest creative launch in the 23-year history of Hotels.com.
“When ‘Hotels.com, The Obvious Choice’ idea came to us, it seemed so… obvious! It’s in our name, but not only that, it’s in everything we do,” said Neha Parikh, vice president and general manager, Hotels.com North America. “We are a company full of fun, hardworking and entrepreneurial travel lovers and this new campaign really helps to take our internal culture out to our customers, which is really important to us.”
The first TV spot features Captain Obvious walking through a hotel and offering obvious observations before proclaiming that Hotels.com is the best dot com to book hotels and that Hotels.com is on the internet. Future spots will focus on additional obvious differentiators, such as the Hotels.com award-winning mobile app, hotel deals, the brand’s more than 10 million genuine guest reviews, and the Welcome Rewards® loyalty program.
Neha Parikh adds: “The launch spot is meant to introduce Captain Obvious to the world and the feedback has been great. For example, people are saying, ‘Captain Obvious is their new favorite character,’ and some have asked us where they can purchase his swimsuit! As the campaign unfolds, we will show customers exactly why Hotels.com is the obvious choice — from rewarding people with a free night for every 10 they collect, to our genuine guest reviews, to our award-winning customer service.”
‘The Obvious Choice’ campaign was created by Crispin Porter + Bogusky out of Boulder, Co. The “Hotels” spot was directed by Imperial Woodpecker’s Stacy Wall, whose directorial credits include projects for brands such as Nike, T Mobile and Geico. Media planning and buying for the campaign is being overseen by TargetCast.
“Hotels.com is a great brand,” said Dan Donovan Executive Creative Director, CP+B, Boulder. “We wanted to tell their story in a very clear and fun way, and we think Captain Obvious gives us a terrific vehicle to do that.”
