W+K Amsterdam follows up March’s effort introducing Booking.com’s “Passion Search” with a new spot enticing fans of various athletic endeavors to “Get in the Game” this summer with the travel service.
The spot opens on a young woman daydreaming and watching a surfing video. “Well, there’s no argument,” begins the voiceover, “you can either keep dreaming or get booking.” She then searches by her passion (surfing) as the spot flashes forward through all the boring bits like catching a flight and checking into the hotel to show her grabbing a board and heading for the beach. “It all starts with the right room,” the voiceover continues — in this case a hotel right on the beach. For others in the ad, it’s a chance to meet Thierry Henry in the elevator, a room right near the stadium or the cyclist’s path.
The 60-second spot kicks off W+K Amsterdam’s “2016 Summer of Sports” campaign for Booking.com, for which Henry serves as brand ambassador. He only makes a short cameo here (in the elevator scene we alluded to above) but we’re guessing the French national soccer hero will be back before the end of the summer. The spot manages to stoke excitement for summer sporting events two days ahead of the 2016 Euro Cup and a little under two months before the start of the Rio 2016 Summer Olympics, while also promoting the brand’s new “Passion Search” feature.
The campaign will roll out with the spot making appearance on broadcast, in cinemas and online in the U.K., Germany, France, Italy, Spain, Poland and Sweden, as well as Australia and Canada in the coming months. An additional two spots are expected in the coming weeks.
“When a savvy traveler wants to find the ideal room for their sporting passion – whether it’s football, surfing, cycling or running – they need look no further than Booking.com,” said W+K Amsterdam creative director Sean Condon. “Our spots bring that idea to life in typical Booking fashion – insightful humor, inspiring travel moments and a few surprises.”
“We are so thrilled to be working with Thierry,” added Booking.com CMO Pepijn Rijvers. “Like sport, travel has a special power to transform lives. We want to spark people’s imagination with possibilities they might not have considered before and Thierry is the perfect person to help us amplify and deliver on that mission. Especially this summer with the buzz around such inclusive and captivating sporting events, there are so many once-in- a-lifetime experiences just waiting to be had. Whatever you’re interested in, pursue it, travel for it—the world is yours to discover.”
Credits:
WIEDEN+KENNEDY AMSTERDAM
Executive Creative Director: Eric Quennoy & Mark Bernath
Creative Director: Genevieve Hoey, Sean Condon, Joe Burrin
Art Director: Cal Al-Jorani
Copywriter: Bern Hunter
Head of Broadcast Production: Joe Togneri
Sr. Broadcast Producer: Heidi Baltzer
Assistant Producer: Soey Lim
Strategic Planner: Emma Wiseman
Jr. Strategic Planner: Alexandre Janneau
Communications Planner: Josh Chang
Digital Strategist: Greg White
Group Account Director: Nick Owen
Account Director: Aitziber Izurrategui
Account Manager: Franky Wardell
Project Manager: Jackie Barbour/Cory Chonko
Business Affairs: Kacey Kelley
FILM PRODUCTION
PRODUCTION COMPANY: STINK
Director: Martin Krejci
Director of Photography: Florian Hoffmeister
Producer: Charlotte Woodhead
Executive Producer: Blake Powell
EDITING COMPANY: MARSHALL STREET EDITORS, LONDON
Editor: Tim Thornton-Allen
Assistant Editor: Stewart Adams
Executive Producer: Katie Truelove
AUDIO POST: GRAND CENTRAL RECORDING STUDIOS, LONDON
Sound Designer/Mixer: Raj Sehgal
Additional Track: Lay George Castle
MUSIC
Artist/Title: Gin Wigmore/New Rush
Music Company: Universal/BMG/Sugaroo
POST PRODUCTION: THE MILL, LONDON
2D Lead Artist: Andrew Barnsley Wood
2D Artists: Brad Wood, Richie Whites
Colorist: Seamus O’Keane
Producer: Elena Pagliei
Executive Producer: Misha Stanford-Harris