Hotels.com's amusing jackass of an ad character, Captain Obvious, is leaping across the pond, as the brand is introducing him to the U.K. market for the first time. And to mark the occasion, he's come up with another fun hack of online ads.
In a new spot, Captain Obvious explains that he travels a lot, and has picked up a lot of languages. He demonstrates this by bantering with Japanese and Russian tourists—but then is stumped when a couple of Geordie lasses talk to him. "I love the Danish," he remarks.
The launch spot will run on TV, but the online version—which will be posted to All 4, Channel 4's online platform—has a "Skip ad" button, but it's unlike any you've seen before. We can't embed the skippable version of the ad, but you can check it out here.
Pretty funny stuff, even if the payoff probably isn't quite as satisfying for users as actually skipping the ad.
Captain Obvious is pretty adept at hacking online advertising formats. His exploits in the past have included making some in-feed Facebook ads that made fun use of silent autoplay.
"Captain Obvious has become a household name in North America and we're excited to introduce this now iconic character to the U.K.," says Aude Ducharme, senior marketing manager EMEA at Hotels.com. "He is fresh, fun and engaging and represents the brand perfectly, making travel straightforward and highlighting the obvious choice. We can't wait for the U.K. to meet him."
CREDITS
Client: Hotels.com
Agency: CP+B London
ECD: Dave Buonaguidi
Creatives: David Carr & Martins Millers/ Graham Storey & Phil Cockrell
Producer: Chris Chapman
Head of Client Services: Charles Faircloth; Account Director: Tania Delamotte
Director: Michael Clowater
Producer: Jason Scanlon
Production Company: Smuggler
Editor: Saam Hodivala
Edit House: Work
