Are TV Hotel Ads Totally Obsolete?

July 2, 2008 at 4:00 PM | 0 Comments

MSNBC Travel columnist Amy Bradley-Hole published a super-interesting piece on hotel advertising called "Why Hotels Should Shutter Ad Campaigns." Essentially, she argues that hotel ads are outdated and sort of worthless these days.

To some extent, we agree with her: many of the ads for the big-chain hotels on TV are kind of lame (alright, outrageously lame) and follow the pretty people/fluffy beds formula (example: Hampton Inn).

But on the other hand, it might be unfair to say that all hotel ad campaigns are outdated.

A couple of the points that really stuck out to us:

Business travelers are told where to stay. Companies have always made "bulk" contracts with hotels -- the more rooms a company books a year, the cheaper the rate.

We say: true! It's tough for Joe Employee to choose where he gets to crash on business trips.

Consumers are savvy, and cynical. I know all my readers are smart consumers. So tell me -- do you really expect your free breakfast to look like a lavish buffet spread?

We say: true again! But -- does anyone actually expect a McDonald's hamburger or an Applebee's steak to look one-tenth as yummy as they do in the commercials? That's just advertising!

Spare us the unoriginality, please! I'll describe a commercial, and you tell me which chain it's for. The commercial starts with a scene of a woman sinking into a fluffy white bed. Then it cuts to a businessman working at a big desk in his room. Then we see a dad and his son swimming. Then it shows a breakfast attendant pouring a hot cup of coffee.
So which hotel company is it? Well, pretty much any guess is right.

Again, true, but she overlooked a couple of key points: what about all the cool, innovative video marketing online?

For example, remember TownePlace Suites' crazy dancing guy ad?

Not to mention some of the other creative stuff on the web, like Ritz-Carlton's short film series or even the ultra-cheesy Aloft 'net ads that caught our attention.

As far as TV commercials go, they're not all total crap: remember that kinda-funny Holiday Inn Express ad with the four dudes at the breakfast bar? We didn't hate it!

What do you think of the modern hotel TV commercial? What are some of your fave (and least fave)? Let us know in the comments section!

[Photo: ShaunO]

Tags: Hotel Ads / Hotel News / Ritz-Carlton Hotels / Holiday Inn Express / Aloft Hotels

by Jenna

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