Hotels.com: Captain Obvious Runs For President

Credits & Description:

Agency: Cp+B
Brand: Hotels.Com
Country: USA
Advertising Agency: Cp+B, Boulder
Entrant Company: Cp+B, Boulder
Media Agency: Cp+B, Boulder
Pr Agency: Hill+Knowlton Strategies, New York
Production Company: Plus Productions, Boulder
Additional Company: Plus Productions, Boulder
Jr. Video Producer: Rachel Noonan (Cp+B)
Chief Creative Officer: Ralph Watson (Cp+B)
Vp/ Associate Director Of Content Production: Sloan Schroeder (Cp+B)
Associate Experience Director: David Irons (Cp+B)
Group Strategy Director: Dean Mcbeth (Cp+B)
Vp/ Director Of Content Production: Kate Hildebrant (Cp+B)
Director: Ruben Fleischer (Caviar, Los Angeles)
Content Manager: Alyssa Fitterer (Cp+B)
Vp/Group Executive Interactive Producer: Jesse Jones (Cp+B)
Associate Media Director: Chris Shewmake (Cp+B)
Vp/ Executive Creative Director: Matt Talbot (Cp+B)
Media Supervisor: Colleen Mcmanus (Cp+B)
Associate Creative Director: Jexy Holman (Cp+B)
Director Of Photography: Ken Seng (Caviar, Los Angeles)
Associate Media Director: Matt Campbell (Cp+B)
Executive Business Manager: Natalie Greenman (Cp+B)
Integrated Broadcast Producer: Addison Born (Cp+B)
Creative Director: Brian Friedrich (Cp+B)
Content Supervisor: Brice Tomlinson (Cp+B)
Sr. Integrated Producer: Dan Corken (Cp+B)
Account Director: Sarah Castner (Cp+B)
Evp/Managing Director: Danielle Whalen (Cp+B)
Content Manager: Ilyssa Schwartz (Cp+B)
Vp/Director Of Integrated Communication: Jennifer Bollman (Cp+B)
Sr. Strategist: Nicole Hering (Cp+B)
Associate Creative Director: Nuno Teixeira (Cp+B)
Integrated Asset Producer: Eva Hunter (Cp+B)
Content Supervisor: Kelly Boyer (Cp+B)
Project Manager: Zach Granowitz (Cp+B)
Campaign Description:
Captain Obvious heard there was a race for President and decided to run the best way he knows how, by actually running. When you’re running across the country you need to stay in a lot of different hotels, and you need a simple way to book them. That’s why Hotels.com is supporting Captain Obvious’ presidential race.
Synopsis:
With an online travel category plagued by parity and the constant fear of getting it wrong, consumers find themselves spending hours searching. Frustration and the feeling of surrender once they finally book is rife. To provide some clarity and prove that Hotels.com is different, in 2014 we launched The Obvious Choice Campaign and enlisted a little help from our biggest fan, Captain Obvious. We made Captain Obvious, once just a phrase in popular culture, into a walking, talking advocate for the brand. Pointing out all the things that make Hotels.com The Obvious Choice for consumers.To continue the Obvious Choice message into 2016, Our task was to keep the character fresh and relevant to the target audience. So, Captain Obvious laced up his running shoes and joined the Presidential race.
Strategy:
Throughout Captain Obvious’ race for President he is monitoring his own pulse and the pulse of the United States, satirizing the more culturally relevant pieces of the political climate in a lighthearted and obvious way through a variety of media – that was planned to impact and enhance our target around existing influencers, cultural moments and events such as the NCAA College Basketball Tournament and trusted bloggers. Our goal was to be a third party participant in a two party race.
Execution:
The Captain Obvious Running for President Campaign consisted of five television spots, a full campaign website, fifty-one online state videos (shot in one day), ten pieces of merchandise, a complex interactive rich media experience, twenty-seven downloadable GIFs, two downloadable green-screen video assets, multiple social posts and content on Twitter including Captain Obvious’ take on Political Jargon, Hotels.com emails, a live-Twitter Republican debate event, an appearance at a running event in Long Beach, CA and even a stint on live television on Fox Business News Mornings with Maria; with more to come. The Captain Obvious Race for President effort was supported through network and cable television, online video, paid social influencers and social, organic social and public relations.
Outcome:
Captain Obvious’ Presidential run and his state videos have thus far received 357 media placements driving over 432.7 million earned media impressions, including national and local press. The campaign ignited a 900% increase in social mentions of Captain Obvious, many of these from people pledging their vote to him. As well as over 60 million views of his GIF content.