Booking.com Celebrates Halloween via W+K Amsterdam

Booking.com, Planet Earth’s #1 accommodation site, is giving fright-loving U.S. audiences what they want this Halloween with an advertising campaign so scary it will have viewers believing they are witnessing the next great horror film. 

With the world’s largest variety of accommodations, Booking.com has exactly what customers are looking for - even haunted hotels. Highlighting seven of America’s most ghostly properties, the integrated campaign behaves just like a new movie release. Hitting those predisposed to frightening content, a scary TVC that feels just like a film trailer targets audiences during horror TV and cinema viewing experiences, while a partnership with Fandango aligns with online trailer searches and movie tickets purchases.

 

Created for the U.S. market with advertising agency Wieden+Kennedy Amsterdam, The Queen Anne Hotel in San Francisco, available on Booking.com, is the star of the campaign’s 60 and 30-second TVC spots. Originally built in 1890 as Miss Mary Lake's School For Girls, the hotel is haunted by former headmistress, Miss Mary herself. Her ghost is still very much felt and seen in her suite, Room 410, where she has even be known to tuck travellers into bed. The hotel’s haunted tale is brought to life in the TVC with Miss Mary’s ghostly presence most definitely felt by one lone female guest. 

Paul Hennessy, Booking.com’s Chief Marketing Officer comments, “We are committed to getting it right for our customers and with over 350,000 properties we are able to deliver exactly what they want, even if that is haunted hotels. Halloween presented the perfect opportunity to deliver this message in a way befitting of the holiday; however, despite the campaign's scary approach, customers have nothing to be afraid of as Booking.com has whatever they are looking for.” 

The Queen Anne is also depicted along with six other hotels  in movie-style posters. Hand-painted by renowned movie-poster illustrator, Akiko Stehrenberger, the posters will feature in-situ in selected movie theater lobbies across the country from October 25.  
 

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An online partnership with Fandango further reflects the full movie-going experience by targeting online ticket purchasing and film trailer searches. From October 25 through to Halloween, Fandango will feature the 60-second Queen Anne trailer and showcase the haunted hotel movie posters in a special ‘House of Horrors’ section. In addition, the site will also boast a Booking.com Halloween skin, pre-rolls and ROS banners. 

Lastly, from October 18 until Halloween customers all over the world will be able to search for haunted properties via the Booking.com destination finder to get into the spooky spirit of the holiday. 

“From The Shining to Psycho, accommodations have played a key role in the cinematic history of horror. It was important for us that the work stay true to the genre and pay homage to the content and design that horror fans crave,” says W+K Executive Creative Director Mark Bernath. “It takes a really brave client to make a truly scary advertising campaign. One that I hope will be appreciated by a very specific audience who have already opted into having the daylights scared out of them.”

 

The 30-second Queen Anne Hotel spot launches on TV today, with the 60-second film airing in cinemas across the country from the 25; both running during targeted Halloween and Horror broadcast content until October 31. To find haunted properties and view the TVC and print visit: www.Booking.com/haunted.

Credits

CLIENT                
CMO    Paul Hennessy
Brand Director    Cort Cunningham

WIEDEN+KENNEDY AMSTERDAM
Executive Creative Director    Mark Bernath, Eric Quennoy
Creative Directors    Zach Watkins, Gen Hoey
Art Director    Craig Williams
Copywriter    Zach Watkins
Head of Production    Erik Verheijen
Agency Producers    Elissa Singstock
Planner        Daisy Andrews
Group Account Director    Jordi Pont
Account Director    Courtney Trull 
Account Manager    Alex Allcott
Art Buyer    Maud Klarenbeek
Digital Producer    Matthew Ravenhall
Project Manager    Jackie Barbour
Business Affairs    Justine Young

MEDIA BUY    WIEDEN+KENNEDY NEW YORK

FILM PRODUCTION
PRODUCTION COMPANY        CONCRETE FILMS
Director    Mark Bernath
Director of Photography    Maxime Alexandre
Producer    Hani Salim

EDITING COMPANY    WIEDEN+KENNEDY
Editor        Julien Maingois

AUDIO POST        GRAND CENTRAL RECORDING STUDIOS
Sound Designer/Mixer    Raja Sehgal

SOUND DESIGN    GRAND CENTRAL RECORDING STUDIOS
Artist / Title        Raja Sehgal

POST PRODUCTION        MPC AMSTERDAM
Flame    Lise Prud-Homme
Telecine    George K
Producer    Gerben Molenaar

ILLUSTRATION PRODUCTION
Illustrator    Akiko Stehrenberger
Agent                     H Represents – Helene Polverelli