Holiday Hospitality Asia Pacific has spent more than US$2 million on the first burst of a new regional television commercial.
The 30-second commercial features two Martian travellers who check-in to a Holiday Inn on their way to an 'Earth summit'. The company, formerly Holiday Inn World Wide, hopes the commercial's catchphrase, 'Be yourself', will become its signature phrase.
Directed by Willde Ng of local production house Another Factory, the spot is airing on TVB, ATV and Star TV. The campaign is supported by print ads in regional publications Fortune, the Far Eastern Economic Review, Time and Newsweek.
Ravi Saligram, Holiday Hospitality Asia-Pacific executive vice-president and managing director, said the 'Be yourself' tag had brand-building potential and the concept would be further promoted through other campaigns.
'Typical hotel advertising is mostly price-directed or facility-directed and they go to extreme discussions on how people are pampered, which is fairly conformist. We talked to people and they said Holiday Inn was unpretentious, a place where you could be yourself, and that's the direction we've taken,' Mr Saligram said.
He said the Holiday Inn name was changed because the company wanted to differentiate between its five-star Crowne Plaza hotels and medium-priced Holiday Inns.
