This Booking.com Commercial Is Pretty Booking Memorable
January 23, 2013 24 Comments
It’s fine if you haven’t heard of Booking.com. I hadn’t either until I saw this commercial tonight. And there’s a very simple reason for that. Booking.com is a travel site owned by Priceline based in Amsterdam that has been hugely popular in Europe, but isn’t a household name in the U.S. But now Booking is going for the American market, and this splashy spot created by Wieden+Kennedy Amsterdam is an interesting debut.
It starts with the bombastic voiceover. And then something odd happens. With the line “you got it booking right”, the narration keeps using the word “booking” in place of a certain profanity. That’s a real attention grabber. The intentionally overdramatic acting is entertaining. It’s not an amazing ad, but it’s definitely memorable. And for a company trying to get a foothold in the crowded American travel market, it accomplishes the goal.
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I think the commercial is offensive. Everything in our culture get more offensive every day. We are all becoming desensitized because of the garbage we allow the media to infiltrate into our homes.
i think this was really funny.
they didnt say one bad word and is anything but offensive. just good spirited fun.
@melissa, then change the channel.
Melissa you obviously find everything offensive. Here’s hint, lighten up Francis
I do not like the commerical……..I find it offensive……obvious play on words…….
obvious play of words…….
The company is European Based and truthfully this is very mild for that culture. Despite the commercial, Booking.com has employed MANY in last 3 years. They will learn the sensitivity of the US market eventually, but for a first go at it, I’d say.. Funny. unique and kind of dorky, but it surely make you remember their name… Booking… I love the site! GO BOOKING.COM!!
I am annoyed at this commercial. Sounds like they are targeting a teenage audience. This does not make the company sound intelligent.
I am also offended by it — so we can say the f word or something close to it — what does this prove? Grow up!! We can do better than this!
This commercial is booking hilarious. I can’t booking wait for the next one!
Does anyone know what the classical music used in this ad is?
I believe it is Mozart’s Lacrimosa from his Requiem.
Thank you very much for the info – I wanna buy/download/whatever it.
Not sure that it’s a classical piece (?) sounds like it might be more like a score written for a movie…Ideas, anyone?
Great ad- gets the job done!
It’s funny how people can get offended by the use of the word booking in this commercial, but we don’t get offended by “darn” in place of the f word, or “crud” in place of the s word. It still represents the same thing a bad word represents and in the case of the commercial, the word is actually quite positive. It amazes me how in this day and age people still haven’t realized words are just words. If YOU take it as offensive, then that means that YOU are thinking the worst of it. You misunderstand the intention and are thus offended by your own thoughts.
A-booking-men, Shannyn.
I’ve now seen this ad many times in regular broadcasting and, for the life of me, I don’t see what all the fuss is about. It is funny, effective, and just slightly naughty, all so the viewer will remember the name “Booking.com.” Worked for me – I’d never heard of this company before but now remember it no prob…
I’ll be remembering it just enough not to take my business there. Plenty of other options out there that don’t use offensive advertising. Like Jake’s comment up above “If you don’t like it change the channel”, isn’t that kind of against the point of advertising? If I was a TV station I would not want to play advertising that might potentially make people change the channel. And if you run an ad campaign that turns off even one potential customer, it should be considered a failure. There could have been plenty of other catchy ads that wouldn’t have stirred up controversy.
Jenni Blong is the blond wife in the commercial. She’s a great actress.
The commercial is a disgrace, a low point for Wieden and Kennedy, demonstrating an incredible lack of grace and sensitivity to the fact that many people would rather not be bombarded with evidence of just how low brow entertainment is willing to go to get your attention. Maybe Wieden and Kennedy Amsterdam should move into the billboard business where they can assault our senses with an even greater degree of crassness.
totally agreee with you jtadmker
I find it offensive for a totally different reason–using music from Mozart’s Requium (a mass for the dead) for marketing? Almost as bad as when Charmin used part of Handel’s Halleluia Chorus to sell toilet paper. And it’s a shame that TV viewers don’t recognize the music, one of the most profound musical pieces ever.
I think I’m going to start a company and call it…..F’rckn.com