Holiday Inn has recently launched a major branding campaign in nine global markets, including the U.S. The theme of the effort is: Stay You. Compelling isn’t it? Stay me? What else would I do? I guess the creators of the campaign never saw the play: “I Love You Just The Way You Are. Now Change.” Anyway, the launch commercial is a series of lame vignettes depicting people in various situations. A super appears over each: “Stay Curious” headlines a couple peering over a bridge. “Stay Vocal” for a woman singing in a karaoke club. “Stay Dad” as a little girl puts a fuzzy pink tiara on her Dad’s head. And, since this is Holiday Inn’s first global effort, “Stay Fanatical” over a group of male business types in a pub/bar, ties at half-mast, cheering stiffly for a televised soccer match. Got the picture? For an added measure of toe-tapping, phony happiness, the visuals are accompanied by a witless little ditty: “I like your messy hair. I like the clothes you wear.” Really, when will ad land’s passion for obscure tunes from even more obscure CDs end? But I digress. Two-thirds of the way through the 30 -second spot, two guys (I think they were in the pub/bar) walk (stagger?) into a Holiday Inn. As they enter, a voice-over tells us “we believe you are at your best when you can truly be yourself.” Huh? What has that got to do with where I spend the night? What has that got to do with anything, except perhaps a Tony Robbins seminar? The company’s Senior VP, Global Brand Management, has the answer: “We want people to love the Holiday Inn brand because it understands the core values of our target consumers.” Of course, Holiday Inn understands me on a deep, personal, emotional level. How can I not love them now? Mission accomplished! I’m going straight to their website and book a room. There have been many successful campaigns based on real, genuine consumer insights. Nike’s “Just do it.” MasterCard’s “Priceless.” And the brilliant Dove work that celebrates “real” women to name a few. But Holiday Inn’s once-over-lightly, shallow, pat pandering isn’t insight. It’s a cliché served up in place of an idea that is truly unique and persuasive. What a missed opportunity. And what a colossal waste of money.
glad to see I’m not the only one awake. (ie hating this crappy ad.) i just recognize it as “the annoying song that comes on the TV.” had no clue Holiday Inn was associated – now that I know, I will be marginally inclined to not stay there.
You have obviously missed the point of a successful ad. It’s not about production values or hit tunes or whatever you’re rambling about. It’s not even about if anyone remembers the ad, it’s ONLY about “do viewers remember the PRODUCT?!”
There have been hundreds of memorable ads that were actually failures because people remembered those ads, but quickly forgot about the product or service being advertised. As of late, the “Old Spice guy” series was cute, clever and memorable, but did not increase sales of Old Spice products enough to be considered a success. Yes, Virginia, sadly, advertising is all about money and making ever larger amounts of it. I’d wager those fluffy Holiday Inn Express ads are helping people to remember that brand when they do go looking for a room to book on their next trip.