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October 26, 2006
Does anyone really care?
That stupid gnome in Travelocity's yawn-inspiring TV ads, annoying popups, and other mass-market propaganda is going away.
Travelocity's Roaming Gnome is returning home for some well-earned R&R.The marketing icon has been a popular feature of Travelocity's advertising since early 2004, shown popping up in different parts of the world and also offering travel advice. Now, to keep the Gnome from becoming overexposed, the online travel concern is taking him out of an ad campaign that debuts this weekend.
The new ads will play off his absence. One shows a portly, out-of-work actor wearing the gnome's famous red cap. Another shows a TV reporter investigating the gnome's absence; viewers who want to know more will be directed to soon-to-launch Web site, www.gnomewatch.com, where mock-sightings of the gnome will be posted. Both ads were crafted by Havas SA's McKinney + Silver.
"In an age of DVRs and ad-skipping, we think those who are used to seeing the Travelocity commercials are going to see this, and they're going to stop in their tracks and rewind and say, 'What was that?'" says chief marketing officer Jeffrey Glueck.
"What was that?" Do people really care this much about boring TV icons? Unlike the Budweiser frogs or the beloved Clydesdales, I doubt that anyone will miss a website's static, boring gnome. Good riddance.
Posted by adrianjo at October 26, 2006 06:47 PM