Skift Take

These travel brands aim to a strike a balance between inspiring wanderlust in viewers and driving that desire to travel to their particular product.

This week’s roundup of travel ads represents a range of companies including airlines, booking sites, and destinations. All of the ads are similar in that they try to give viewers the tools to be more spontaneous whether it’s with a mobile booking app or the right kind of vacation spot.

FOR ALL OF OUR SKIFTADS OF THE WEEK COLLECTION, CHECK OUT OUR ARCHIVES HERE.

Enjoy Illinois has a hilarious new tourism ad showing a small Abe Lincoln doll visiting different parts of the state. The doll visits theme parks, cities, and a hot air balloon festival.

His adventures are meant to motivate others to be spontaneous and take trips they plan and trips they don’t plan to take.

Hotels.com has a scandalous new TV spot for its Australia market. The commercial shows a couple going at it in an elevator making the viewer and family inside the ad uncomfortable. It then shows a second version in which the woman uses the Hotels.com mobile app to get a cheap room fast for her romance.

Visit Mexico‘s latest ad in its ‘Live It to Believe It’ campaign features two couples on vacation in the Yucatan. A woman talks about the trip with a focus on the region’s  cuisine, natural attractions, and historical sites. The commercial includes beautiful scenery and actors, but is also overproduced making the end product seem unrealistic.

Air France‘s commercial for its recently updated mobile app follows a Parisian man as he walks around the city and meets colleagues while booking a flight. Much of the ad is focused on his iPhone’s screen as he searches for, books, and checks into his flight. Airlines and booking sites are coming out with more ads that put emphasis on their mobile tools.

Visit Virginia calls out its culture’s colonial roots in its latest ad promoting the state’s local wineries and alcohol. The ad highlights the state’s southern hospitality and homegrown brews with a a local mixologist talking about how he makes customers happy.

“There’s lots of states that don’t make amazing wine. There’s lots of states that don’t make amazing beer. There’s so much artisan stuff going on in Virginia. I really think it harkens back to the colonial days when you had to do it, you had to be self-sufficient.”

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The Daily Newsletter

Our daily coverage of the global travel industry. Written by editors and analysts from across Skift’s brands.

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Tags: air france/klm, hotels.com, mexico, skiftadsweek, virginia

Photo credit: A small Abe Lincoln doll shows all there is to do in Illinois in the tourism board's latest ad. Enjoy Illinois / YouTube

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