Holiday Inn Express ads to feature guests performing as KISS
"Consumer responses to the 'Stay Smart' ads have been tremendous, and we expect the KISS spot to generate more excitement among the public than ever before," said Jenifer Zeigler, vice president of marketing for Holiday Inn Express. "The latest extension to the campaign continues to capture the brand's personality, as well as communicate that Holiday Inn Express is a smart lodging choice."
The Holiday Inn Express "Stay Smart" campaign, created by Fallon Minneapolis, is in its fourth year. Each of the now nine executions show ordinary people in situations that allow them to exhibit newly enhanced intelligence, skill, or artistic ability after having stayed at the hotel.
Previous commercials have included hotel guests preventing a nuclear meltdown, coaching a camper to escape a bear attack, and performing a challenging surgical procedure.
The newest spot opens to a shot of the rock group KISS wrapping up their final encore in front of a large crowd of screaming fans. Viewers watch the band and its manager run off stage and back to the dressing room. The manager congratulates them on the great show and talks of a comeback. As the band members remove their makeup, the manager realizes they are not the actual members of KISS and says, "You guys aren't KISS." The Paul Stanley imposter then justifies, "No, but we did stay at a Holiday Inn Express last night."
Both 30- and 60-second versions of the commercial will run on cable outlets, including CNN, ESPN, the History Channel, Discovery Networks, A&E, TBS and VH1. The spots will also be available for viewing on the Holiday Inn Express Web site at hiexpress.com.
The campaign is designed to differentiate and generate awareness for the Holiday Inn Express brand and help contribute to its success as a category leader in its segment (mid-scale without food and beverage). The advertising has delivered on all counts, resulting in EFFIE awards for advertising effectiveness from the American Marketing Association in 1999, 2000 and 2001. Brand awareness has increased nearly 40 percent, and advertising awareness has increased 96 percent since the campaign's inception in 1998. The success of this campaign has also fueled the brand's continued rapid growth-more than 100 hotels were opened in 2000.
Most exciting is how consumers have embraced the campaign, which has infiltrated pop culture with the famous last line, "No, but I did stay at a Holiday Inn Express last night." The references to the campaign are numerous, from mentions by an ESPN SportsCenter commentator to former Vice President Al Gore.
"Consumers are incredibly responsive and involved in this campaign," said Beth Perro-Jarvis, Fallon group director. "It was really they who inspired us to take it to the next level and push it further into pop culture with KISS."
To further involve consumers, Holiday Inn Express recently launched the "Express Your Smarts" contest, inviting consumers to produce their own "Stay Smart" television commercial. Additional information about the contest can be found at www.expressyoursmarts.com.
Bass Hotels & Resorts® [LON:BAS, NYSE:BAS (ADRs)], the hotel business of Bass PLC of the United Kingdom, owns, operates or franchises more than 3,000 hotels and over 490,000 guest rooms in close to 100 countries and territories.
The following are some of the service marks owned by Bass Hotels & Resorts, Inc., its parent, subsidiaries or affiliates: Holiday Inn®, Crowne Plaza®, Holiday Inn Express® in the Americas, Express by Holiday InnSM in Europe, the Middle East and Africa, Holiday Inn Select®, Holiday Inn Garden CourtSM, Holiday Inn SunSpree® Resort, Staybridge Suites® by Holiday Inn®, Holiday Inn Family SuitesSM Resort , Holidex®, Priority Club®, Inter-Continental® and Forum®. Centra® in Canada and Mexico; CentraSM in the U.S.; ParkroyalSM in the U.S. and Canada; Parkroyal® in Mexico.
Six Continents Club® is a service mark of Bass PLC and used under license. Bass Hotels & Resorts, Inc. offers information and reservations capability on the Internet - www.basshotels.com, www.interconti.com for Inter-Continental Hotels and Resorts, www.crowneplaza.com for Crowne Plaza Hotels and Resorts, www.holiday-inn.com for Holiday Inn hotels, www.hiexpress.com for Holiday Inn Express hotels, www.staybridge.com for Staybridge Suites by Holiday Inn, and www.priorityclub.com.
For the latest news from Bass Hotels & Resorts, visit our online Press Office at
Fallon Minneapolis, one of the world's most critically acclaimed, creatively driven branding companies, manages the consumer voice of some of the world's leading brands. With billings of more than $800 million, the company's clients include, among others: BMW of North America, Citi, drugstore.com, EDS, Gulfstream Aerospace Corp., Holiday Inn, International Truck and Engine Corp., The Lee Company, Nikon, Nordstrom, Nuveen Investments, PBS, Ralston Purina, Starbucks Coffee Company, Timex and United Airlines. Fallon Minneapolis is a part of Fallon Worldwide, the second global network of Publicis Groupe, based in Paris.
Additional information can be found at www.fallon.com.
Production Company - Morton Jankel, Los Angeles
SOURCE: Holiday Inn Express
Creative Credits:
Agency - Fallon Minneapolis
Executive Creative Director - David Lubars
Creative Director - Bob Moore
Group Creative Director - Scott Vincent
Art Director - Dave Damman
Copywriter - Tom Rosen
Production- Brian DiLorenzo, Joe Grundhoefer
Account Management - Beth Perro-Jarvis, Kristen Evenson, Courtney Culligan
Director - Craig Gillespie
Executive Producer - David Zander
Producer - Brain Latt
Post Production Company - Terminal, Santa Monica
Editor - Jonathan Del Gatto
Music - Robert Feist and Ravenswork, Venice, Calif.
Sound Design Company - Bryan Bowen and Soundelux, Hollywood, Calif.