Embassy Suites Hotels is all set to launch a $15 million campaign on television, print and online advertisements that introduces the concept of “more of more”—directed by Roman Coppola, sister of filmmaker Sofia and son of the legendary director Francis Ford.

This is Roman Coppola’s first directorial foray in the hotel industry.

The campaign was created by BBDO-Atlanta. The television campaign, launching March 6, features 30-second spots starring a quirky guest named Mr. More who’s always looking for “more of more” and “less of less.”

The commercials were filmed at the Embassy Suites Los Angeles-Glendale in California, and the 30-second spots offer viewers a chance to connect the brand’s selling points with a human face and character.

As the U.S. Travel Association proved with the Faces of Travel contest launched to combat the AIG Effect, it’s important to find a human face that people can relate to and use as a link to connect with the underlying brand or campaign.

Mr. More, Embassy Suites advertisement

The spots aim to highlight the size of the two-room suites, free breakfasts and complimentary drinks that the hotel brand offers. In one ad, Mr. More is shown taking off with a massive heap of plates piled high with food, and the next shot shows him seated at a table with his large family eating breakfast.

“Mr. More speaks for everyone who wants to get the most from their travel dollars, and he represents how great it feels to always get more during a stay at Embassy Suites,” said John Lee, vice president, brand marketing for Embassy Suites Hotels, Hilton Worldwide, in a statement. “Roman’s quietly off-kilter sensibility and innate understanding of the brand’s personality was a great match for us.”

The commercials will run throughout the year in markets including Washington, D.C.; Los Angeles; Chicago; Dallas/Fort Worth; New York; Atlanta; San Francisco; Memphis; Houston; and Phoenix.

See the advertisements online on youtube.

Photo – Embassy Suites

The California Travel and Tourism Commission (CTTC) will be launching a new television ad on Oct 11, 2010 called ‘Misconceptions’ which pokes fun at its own stereotypes with the help of an all-star cast of celebrities.

California Misconceptions celeb ad

The cast includes Betty White, Kim Kardashian, Olympic skier Shannon Bahrke, chef Michael Chiarello, LA Philharmonic conductor Gustavo Dudamel, and musicians Jonas Brothers and Jason Mraz.

The basic premise of the ad is these celebrities pointing out California stereotypes – convertibles, surfing, bikini babes, rock stars, etc. – while doing exactly what they’re making fun of.

The ad begins with Kim Kardashian saying “People have a lot of misconceptions about California, but none of them are really true.” She’s shown lounging poolside in a bikini with a quantum physics book in her hands.

The celebs have spectacular backdrops to support them, from the Squaw Valley ski slopes to Hotel Del and Coronado Beach in San Diego, the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco, the redwoods, wine country and Venice Beach in Los Angeles.

Caroline Beteta, CTTC president and chief executive officer, said in a statement that “We’re encouraging travelers to ‘find yourself here’ in California. We’ve chosen personalities for this campaign that represent the California lifestyle in world-class sports, great cuisine, the outdoors, music and entertainment.”

Beteta added that “The broadest appeal of this ad is the compilation and contrast of these personalities together on screen. Much like these diverse celebrities, California has something for everyone.”

See the Misconceptions ad  - www.visitcalifornia.com/misconceptions

There’s a fine line between controversial and tasteless, and Spirit Airlines has no clue where one ends and the other begins. They’re running a slideshow on their homepage featuring bikini-clad women on different beaches, inviting viewers to ‘Check Out The Oil On Our Beaches.’

Spirit Airlines BP ad

What does this have to do with a discount airline? It’s an ad for a $50 discount offer. The slideshow ends with a bottle of lotion on the sand which highlights the letters B & P in Best Protection.

After taking flak from the media and on twitter, Spirit put out a press release which says – “We are merely addressing the false perception that we have oil on our beaches, and we are encouraging customers to support Florida and our other beach destinations by continuing to travel to these vacation hot spots. The only oil you’ll find when traveling to our beaches is sun tan oil. Although misunderstood by some, today’s promotion was clearly appreciated by others.”

Fact remains that the ad doesn’t feature any Gulf Coast destination. Of the 4 beaches in the ad, only one (Ft. Lauderdale) is in Florida, and there’s no oil anywhere near Fort Lauderdale. The other three beaches featured are Cancun, Mexico; San Juan, Puerto Rico; and Atlantic City, NJ.

The reality is that the combination of a big news story and an added Spirit controversy generates more interest, and makes people curious enough to want to visit Spirit’s website to see the ad. There’s a long history of similar tasteless Spirit ads piggybacking on big news stories.

Spirit Airlines ads

2006 – Hunt for Hoffa ad - a take on the FBI’s search for the Teamsters President – invited viewers to dig for Jimmy Hoffa’s body on the Spirit website. The ad got pulled after complaints, and later found itself on CNNMoney’s 101 Dumbest Moments in Business.

2007 – MILF ad – Spirit said it had nothing to do with Stifler’s Mom, but stands for “Many Islands, Low Fares.” Look closely at the MILF ad above, and you’ll see the islands in the center form the shape of a woman lounging on a beach.

2008 – Three sales in One ad - Invited email subscribers with the tagline “We’re having a threesome. Join us in the fun.”

2009 – Eye of the Tiger sale - Put out when the Tiger Woods incident was all over the news in December last year, showed an SUV crashing into a fire hydrant with a tiger leaning out the window. 

Another equally cheap (in every sense of the word) fare sale in Aug 2009 was the ‘We’re No Virgin’ sale with with $9 fares each way. Tagline - ”We’re No Virgin - We’ve Been Cheap and Easy For Years.”

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Tourism Australia has come up with a new tagline and campaign - “There’s Nothing Like Australia” which aims to showcase all the things that make Australia unlike anywhere else.

"There's Nothing like" Australia Tourism tagline

And this time they made sure there would be no Lara Bingle raising bloody hell. Actually, in addition to staying away from controversy, the two-phase campaign has been smartly designed to capitalize on user generated content and social networking.

Starting today, Australians are being invited to start taking photos of their favourite place or experience in Australia and come up with a description in 20 words or less on what makes it uniquely Australian.

A sample for Queensland is shown in the picture to the left, with the suggestive tagline – “There’s Nothing Like… Queensland.”

Andrew McEvoy, Managing Director, Tourism Australia, explains that “Australians are the experts on what is unique and special about their country and we want to share this with potential travellers in a way that will make them want to come and visit our country.”

So for Phase I, Tourism Australia is spending $4 million to create an interactive map of Australia, made up of all the things Australians think are special about their country.

From 15 April to May 12, Australians will have the chance to upload their entries to the campaign website www.nothinglikeaustralia.com. 

The data will then be used to create the interactive map, which will be searchable by experience type, location, and by 1,000 keywords. The map will be available on both australia.com and nothinglikeaustralia.com.

The Phase II global launch will be in May 2010, with the campaign website and map being made public, accompanied by a television commercial.

Some of the submitted entries will be used in print and online advertising globally. Tourism Australia will also create videos of suggested locations, to be used in ads on TV and in online video ads. They plan to spend $150 million on the campaign over the next three years.