Flamingo Doesn't Act Its Age in R&R Ads

LOS ANGELES R&R Partners yesterday broke a campaign for the Flamingo Las Vegas that targets a younger, hipper demographic. This is the first work for the 57-year-old casino and resort since R&R began working with the Park Place Entertainment property a year ago. It is also the Flamingo's first campaign in at least three years, said Mary Ann Mele, chief strategic officer for the independent agency in Las Vegas.The campaign, which introduces "As Vegas as Vegas gets" as a tag, includes television, radio and newspaper ads, posters and guerilla marketing aimed at the Southern California market. Spending was undisclosed, but sources estimated the budget at more than $2 million.One 30-second spot shows attractive guys and girls enjoying cocktails and checking each other out at the Flamingo lounge and Bugsy's Bar. The voiceover: "Las Vegas is home to some of the world's greatest art. None of which is at the Flamingo." Another version of that spot includes gaming scenes, while a third effort focuses on one young man in particular. He raises his beer to a woman at the other end of the bar and proceeds to wink and blow kisses at her. She rolls her eyes and moves on, and he then raises a toast to the next girl he sees.Another 30-second execution shows the Flamingo's newly revamped pool area. It opens with a blond woman in a hot pink cowboy hat, and shows a young party crowd. Some drink pink drinks, some wear pink bikinis and others float on pink rafts in the pool. The voiceover: "Las Vegas is home to some of the world's most avant garde entertainment. None of which is at the Flamingo."The ads close with an image of a person sporting a flamingo tattoo. TV spots will air during programs such as E!'s True Hollywood Story and Vegas Showgirls, the Travel Channel's World's Best and Travel Channel Secrets, ESPN's SportsCenter and Outside the Lines, and Comedy Central's Primetime Glick and The Man Show.Posters, which will be placed in men's and women's restrooms, contain microchips with voice recordings that are activated when people approach. One poster shows a guy in a chair and has the voice sample: "Hey, I'm not saying you don't look great, but you'd look a lot better at the Flamingo. I'm just sayin'." Another poster shows a woman in a skirt and includes the voice sample: "Hey, what are you looking at? If you were smart, you'd use that other hand to jot down the Web address." Mele said the campaign stemmed from account planning research, which revealed that the Flamingo is "having a resurgence among young people. They're legendary in town, they have a lot of very loyal customers and the target has typically skewed a lot older," Mele said, adding that the 21-35-year-old crowd is now mingling with older clientele ages 55 and up. Ads have "a youthful, exuberant feel," similar to that of a beer commercial, said agency vice president and creative director Randy Snow. "Las Vegas is a town where you're invited to party all night and the Flamingo was one of the first hotels on the strip," said Snow. The campaign also includes cocktail napkin messages and 8,000 water bottles that will be handed out at beaches that read, "You're so hot, you should drink this. Flamingo Las Vegas."

Brand Marketing

Flamingo Doesn't Act Its Age in R&R Ads

Rebecca Flass

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Rebecca Flass