There’s only one place where ignoring the organization and logistics involved with travel really pays off. That’s in travel ads where people don’t want to think about renting a car or booking a tour, but want to imagine themselves steeped in culture in front of vistas they’ve only seen in their dreams.
Consequently, this week’s ad roundup looks at the romantic side of travel. It looks past business meetings to see face-to-face human connection, turns arguably irresponsible last-minute trips into a celebration of spontaneity, and highlights how ancient trails can become a modern-day action movie.
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Would you drop everything to take a free flight to your dream vacation, tonight? That’s the question posed in Expedia’s new #TripADay campaign in which everyone that downloads the Expedia app is entered to win a free trip. The giveaway’s teaser video, above, shows how few people are willing to embrace spontaneity to travel. The one New Yorker who takes Expedia up on its offer ends up in China and concludes, “I could have been home watching TV and what a shame that would’ve been.”
Connect at Hilton Worldwide is the global hotel group’s meeting and event planning resource. Business travelers and executives can go directly to the website and find the right hotel for their group size and meeting needs in a certain city. The above commercial promotes the product by focusing on the importance of human connection, something that Hilton doesn’t want getting lost in a digital age.
“We believe that when real people gather in a real room, something happens: Ideas are unleashed, courage becomes contagious, and things that once seemed impossible suddenly are possible. This is Connect at Hilton Worldwide, a powerful way for people to come together and truly connect, face-to-face, should-to-shoulder.”
Colorful, fast-paced, and paired with upbeat music, these ads for Maharashtra, a state in the western region of India, are everything a good destination ad should be. The region has a reputation for energizing ads, which it releases every year. There are critics of the campaign who say too many images were thrown together and the result doesn’t provide a clear or purposeful picture of the state.
Who doesn’t want to see highlights of their next vacation laid out like a movie trailer? The latest tourism promotion ad from Peru does just that by turning Machu Picchu, spas, and the Amazon River into an action-packed film starring the country’s next arrival. This is a creative concept and one that we haven’t seen used by a country yet. The commercial was also released in Chinese.
The Peninsula Hotels‘ new initiative, Peninsula Academy, gives guests a unique view of a city with special tours and programs led by Peninsula staff. Examples of the experiences available across Peninsula’s properties include an art deco tour of Shanghai, an origami or Chinese kite-making class, and a vineyard adventure in Bangkok. The promotional ad is a well-paced journey throughout the several properties where Peninsula is based.
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Tags: expedia, hilton, peninsula hotels, peru, skiftadsweek
Photo credit: Two Peninsula Hotel workers sit inside one of the international hotel group's properties. Peninsula Hotels / Peninsula Hotels