SB LI & ABNB

As all of North America knows, yesterday was the Super Bowl.  The Atlanta Falcons played the New England Patriots, and following the theme of Atlanta sports-- the Falcons lost in the most heart wrenching ways.  Every year people tune in to see who will come out on top, but this isn't without the discussion about other factors...the commercials and half-time performance.

This year's commercials, just like the previous years, never disappoint.  As a marketing student, I always find myself overanalyzing each and every commercial sometimes more than the plays in the game.  One of the first commercials of the evening peaked my interest more than others.

Airbnb released the following commercial.  In this commercial, the company makes the statement that they accept everyone regardless of age, nationality, and sexual preference.  The overall message is a typical feel-good commercial.  At the end, the hashtag #weaccept is shown with the Airbnb logo underneath. Other than this logo, there is no other evidence as to what company is behind the inspiring commercial.  Is this a good way to market?  What if people hadn't been familiar with the company and their logo?  Is this worth the insane costs for the airtime during the Super Bowl?

Yes yes yes!! This commercial is genius in my opinion.  This commercial reaches out to viewers in two distinct ways.  To the person familiar with Airbnb and their logo, he/she knows right away what company it is and is happy to see such a good message that is not engaging in typical selling techniques that commercials are known for.  On the other hand, someone not familiar with the company and logo might be confused at first.  While sitting around with friends, they might ask their friends, "wait whose commercial was that?"  This leads the viewer to look up "#weaccept".  Once they do this, they will find out the company behind the commercial.  If they are not family with the work that Airbnb does, they will most likely go onto their website or download their app.  This turns this typical commercial into something social.  

At this point, Airbnb has fulfilled it's purpose.  They are driving traffic to their website in an unconventional way.  Airbnb didn't have to engage in the typical pull to get viewers interested in their product or service.  Unconventional ads have proven to be successful over and over again, so it is no surprise that this is the case again.  Well done Airbnb...you can take the Super Bowl commercial crown now. 

xo