Comedians Jordan Peele and Chelsea Peretti are planning their wedding, and it's not going well. Luckily, they're using Booking.com, so it's easy to make changes.
The duo—engaged in real life—star in new ads for the accommodations website, fictionalizing their struggle to find accommodations for their special day. Created by Wieden + Kennedy in Portland, Ore., and directed by Randy Krallman, the campaign launches Sunday, with two spots airing during the iHeartRadio Music Awards and the American Country Music Awards.
In "Destination Wedding," Peele (of Key and Peele) and Peretti (of Brooklyn Nine Nine) consider tying the knot in a yurt, only to find themselves discouraged by a unwelcome guest who has a talent for puffing its chest aggressively.
In the second commercial, "Beach Booty," the pair scramble to get in shape for their bathing suits—until the bride-to-be gives up on whatever form of aerobic torture they're attempting, and the voiceover suggests a free change to an Alaskan resort instead.
Six more ads are slated to launch throughout the spring and summer, following the couple's celebrity friends as they try getting to the wedding in the first place.
It's a fun and simple approach—it's entertaining enough to be memorable, but also distinguishes itself from the millennial wanderlust themes currently dominating marketing from other travel advertisers, like Hotwire and Travelocity.
Expedia, for its part, has been building VR experiences to help sick children realize their dreams; Hotels.com, a more direct competitor, is running a moron across the country in hopes of making him president; while Airbnb is inviting people to sleep in shark tanks.
In Booking.com's case, a wedding is an upbeat, relatable topic (and the existence of the tabloid industry proves celebrity couples have broad appeal). So the basic strategy seems to make sense, even if Booking has previously argued that travel itself is a special occasion: Every accommodation has the potential to change a guest's life forever.
Regardless, one thing is clear—that owl is the real winner.
CREDITS
Client: Booking.com
Agency: Wieden + Kennedy, Portland, Ore.
Director: Randy Krallman