BETHESDA, MD—Marriott International has launched a new five-episode animated web series, Hot Shoppe, on YouTube. The series highlights Marriott’s history and brings life to the brand, while showcasing the lodging company’s five core values —putting people first, pursuing excellence, embracing change, acting with integrity, and serving our world, according to the company.
Marriott International’s Content Studio led the overall creative development for the series, and partnered with Los Angeles-based production company Believe Entertainment to produce the series. Each animated episode illustrates one of the brand’s core values.
“Original content creation is not a new idea for Marriott,” said Debbie M. Harrison, global officer, culture at Marriott International. “In the 1960s, Hot Shoppe produced a weekly comic book; yesterday’s comic book is today’s YouTube video. We were innovative in the 1960s and today we’re continuing our innovation tradition communicating in new and engaging ways.”
Ryan Turner, Jesse Pepe and Travis Braun wrote the episodes. Ali Dee Theodore (Despicable Me 2, Night at the Museum, Iron Man and Alvin and the Chipmunks) and Tony Bella composed the music for the series. The animation team, whose credits include The Lion King, Toy Story, Dora the Explorer, Sesame Street, Wonder Pets and Peg & Cat is comprised of Tone Thyne (supervising producer/creative director), Cassandra Gibbons (designer/art director), Rick Ritter (storyboards), Chris Timmons (animator), Kyle Anderson (animator), Heidi Sullivan (animator) and Jeffrey Lesser (music mix/sound design).
“By combining simple, yet elegant, animation with a rich musical score, the series illustrates Marriott’s extraordinary origin stories to bring the heritage of this iconic brand to life,” said Brian Hunt, EVP of development and head of the studio at Believe Entertainment Group.
The series will be featured on Marriott’s YouTube channel.