Marriott Launches Hip New Ad Campaign

WASHINGTON, D.C.— Marriott International has launched a new television and print advertising campaign featuring a host of unexpected celebrities and witty new taglines. The new campaign, geared towards generating more weekend business, debuted on September 5 during the NBC premiere of its new reality show “Lost.” “The hook was that for many consumers, weekends come and go and they never get away. We’re asking them not to ‘lose’ another weekend, which ties in with the ‘Lost’ theme,” said Deborah Fell, vp/marketing strategy for Marriott International. Despite the two ads that aired during the one-hour NBC broadcast, Marriott officially launches the campaign today, when the 30-second TV spots hit two other major networks and five cable channels. “The idea behind the television ads is people getting travel advice from unexpected sources,” said Fell. For example, the ads which aired on September 5, featured rock star Alice Cooper who recommends to a suburban dad mowing his lawn that the family gets away at a Residence Inn. The full-service Marriott Hotels, Resorts, & Suites commercials feature magician David Copperfield asking a couple to ‘re-ignite the magic’ in their relationship by taking a weekend getaway. The ads for Courtyard by Marriott, a limited service brand, feature former “Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous” host Robin Leach recommending a weekend stay at a Courtyard property to an unsuspecting couple. When the couple states they thought he was into a caviar lifestyle, he replies, jokingly, “Not in this economy.” Finally, the Fairfield Inn television ads feature “Survivor” host Jeff Probst, who magically appears in a couple’s living room. He criticizes the couple’s ‘lack of adventure’ and recommends they take a road-trip to a Fairfield Inn. “These ads are very different for a hotel company. There’s really nothing else like it in the industry,” said Fell. Though Marriott has run humorous ads before, this is the first time it has created one campaign for all of its brands and is the first time the company’s used celebrities in its promotions. “We use different celebrities in the campaign, but I think it all ties together. It leverages the synergies across the brands,” she added. Only those four brands, which are Marriott’s largest, will be featured in the television ads, however, the company’s entire portfolio, including Renaissance, SpringHill Suites, and TownePlace Suites, will be featured in the print advertisements. The print ads take a different approach— instead of using celebrities, they feature inanimate objects offering travel advice. One print ad, for example, shows a VCR complaining about playing sappy, romantic movies, and recommends that the couple take a romantic getaway to full-service Marriott hotel. The print campaign, which will appear in USA Today and other top U.S. newspapers, also has the added bonus of a special Marriott Rewards offer for earning extra hotel points. “The goal of the entire campaign is to generate demand on the weekends at our hotels, and secondly to show the different brands and how they fit inside the Marriott portfolio, but keep the same quality consistency,” said Fell. In addition to promoting Marriott’s “Come out and Play Weekend Rates,” the new campaign will also unite company’s family of brands under the tagline— “Your Marriott Awaits.” Fell noted that slogan is “meant to be personal,” giving the impression that Marriott is “waiting to serve ‘you.’”