TripAdvisor Returns to TV Advertising With Bathrobe-Clad Owl as Spokesperson
Skift Take
TripAdvisor's new ad campaign comes at a momentous time for the company, although TripAdvisor views it as part of a long-term TV advertising enterprise. With $70 million behind it and an empathetic bent it will probably do well. You can expect Trivago to up its game as well.
Forget Priceline's William Shatner, Hotels.com's Captain Obvious, the Trivago Guy, and Travelocity's Roaming Gnome. TripAdvisor returned to TV advertising in the U.S. Tuesday after a two-year absence with a bathrobe-clad owl character, inspired by the company's Ollie the Owl logo, advising consumers that through TripAdvisor they can retrieve hotel results from 200 sites, save up to 30 percent on the rates, and find the "right hotel for you and the best price."
The tagline for this initial "Little Wiser" campaign, which will be a series of ads, is "TripAdvisor: latest reviews, lowest prices." TripAdvisor showed Skift a 30-second and two 15-second TV ads that are part of the initial rollout. [See one of the 15-second spots embedded below.]
There isn't any messaging in this first series of TV ads, which vice president of brand marketing Neela Pal told Skift will evolve, about booking on TripAdvisor other than the company's overall tagline at the end of the ads: "Know better, book better, go better."
Pal said the campaign starts with an emphasis on comparing hot
