OK, you world-wise travel people. Ever been to Wotifia? Never heard of it? It's right next to Freedonia, that fake country invented by the Marx Brothers in Duck Soup.
Wotifia is actually the brainchild of ad agency M&C Saatchi in Sydney, which borrowed a page from the Marx Brothers—and early Terry Gilliam's work for Monty Python—to help rejuvenate the image of Australia's largest online travel site, Wotif.com.
The agency created a short buddy movie that features two clueless looking dudes literally falling into surreal travel adventures in an animated world called—what else?—Wotifia.
The adventures are set to a ridiculous music track with ridiculous lyrics that sound like a mashup of Barry Manilow and Lionel Richie after you've taken a whopping dose of hallucinogens.
The boys encounter dancing llamas in South America, a soil-your-swimshorts experience with sharks, a bone-breaking ski trip to the Alps, a run-in with a 100-foot bikini clad beauty who emerges from the sea like Godzilla, and a lazy Susan full of Chinese food like it's a merry-go-round.
Michael Betteridge, Wotif's general manager of marketing, says the campaign, which launched last month, "is designed to reach the 'next generation' of travelers and introduce them to our brand, our range of travel products and experiences, and to our irreverent and fun approach to travel."
Irreverence is certainly the theme. Credits below.
CREDITS
Client: Wotif.com
Agency: M&C Saatchi, Sydney
Executive Creative Director: Ben Welsh
Creative Directors/Art Directors/Writers: Gary Dawson, Shane Gibson, Andy Flemming
Digital Art Director: Glenn Christensen
Account Management: Karlee Weatherstone, Emmanuel Spiropoulos, Kristy Schwind, Charlotte Rijkenberg, Marcella Nigro
Planning Director: Mark Vadgama
Agency Producers: Jules Jackson, Sue Hind
Production Company: World Wide Mind
Director: Rocky Morton
Executive Producers: Will Alexander, Ben Nott