Wotif.com takes Aussies to Wonderful Wotifia in new brand campaign via M&C Saatchi Sydney
Wotif.com, Australia’s favourite online travel destination, has launched a new brand campaign via M&C Saatchi Sydney that brings to life ‘Wotifia’.
The fictitious world is a tropically, snowy, hot and cold sort of paradise where people can find over 2,154 airports, 65,000 secluded islands, 43,678 local dishes,13 million hotel rooms and 350,000kms of stunning coastline.
To bring this unique destination to life M&C Saatchi created an irreverent online film set to an equally irreverent song featuring the adventures of two young guys as they discover every destination they could ever want – in one place.
On their journey the duo encounter singing farts, a tornado made out of noodles, dancing sheep, space llamas, a spot of ‘foxy boxing’, a 40-foot-tall bikini-clad woman and more, all set against the backdrop of Wonderful Wotifia, where, as the song proclaims….”it’s fun to be a visita.”
The film, a blend of live action and animation, is the result of a collaboration between production companies Song Zu, Heckler, Sixty 40 and World Wide Mind’s US-based director Rocky Morton. Morton, a highly regarded commercials director, has also directed feature length films including Super Mario Brothers, D.O.A and is the creator of cult icon Max Headroom.
Says Ben Welsh, M&C Saatchi executive creative director: “It’s amazing what you can do with a brutally simple idea and incredibly talented team of people.
“The result is something rather random, unique and fun with that rush of excitement and that holiday feeling you get when booking a trip away.”
Michael Betteridge, Wotif group’s general manager of marketing says the Wotifia campaign represented a new direction for the Wotif.com brand, while staying true to its irreverent and fun heritage.
Says Betteridge: “Wotif.com is an iconic brand which was launched 14 years ago. This campaign encourages those people who already think they know us to take another look at our site, as we’ve evolved and now offer much more than domestic accommodation.
“Wotif.com now has a huge range of domestic and international accommodation and flight deals as well as packages for both domestic and short-haul international travel.
“It’s also designed to reach the ‘next generation’ of travellers and introduce them to our brand, our range of travel products and experiences, and to our irreverent and fun approach to travel.
“Wotifia is a travel utopia bordered only by your own imagination; There’s nowhere quite like it, yet it’s everywhere you’ve ever wanted to go and it can all be accessed through Wotif.com.”
The online campaign will feature across Wotif.com’s own channels as well as YouTube, Spotify and Facebook.
Wotif Group General
Manager of Marketing: Michael Betteridge
Wotif Group Marketing
Manager: Louise Ryan
ECD: Ben Welsh
Creative Directors/Art Directors/Writers: Gary Dawson, Shane Gibson, Andy Flemming
Digital Art Director: Glenn Christensen
Account Management: Karlee Weatherstone, Emmanuel Spiropoulos, Kristy Schwind, Charlotte Rijkenberg, Marcella Nigro
Planning Director: Mark Vadgama
Agency Producers: Jules Jackson, Sue Hind
Production Company: World Wide Mind
Executive Producers: Will Alexander, Ben Nott.
Director: Rocky Morton
Producer: Michelle Parker
DOP: High Miller
Art Director: Simon Dobbin
Post Production: Sixty40@Heckler
Animation Director: Mark Simpson
Senior Producer: Jayne da Costa
Producer: Tyrone Estephan
Editor: Andrew Holmes
Music: Song Zu
Composer: Ramesh Sathiah
Sound Designer: Abby Sie
Producers: Trelise Caughey, Larissa Coupe
Media: Match
39 Comments
Yeah. That’s great.
Like it, nicely done & good larf. Makes me want to jump on a plane and fuck off somewhere, no doubt the intended consequence.
WOTTHEFUCKIA?
What an amateurish mess. When you try to be everything to everybody, and you’ve got no money, and you’re trying to be young and hip, this is what you end up with.
Sad.
lots of fun- can’t knock singing flatulence!
Oh I so love the Juniors coming on here and being stroppy.
So much fun when you’re anonymous.
I love it, but then I watched them crafting it for weeks on end.
Props to Ben Nott, Heckler, Rocky and M&C.
Made me smile- very random!
What a pile of Shitifia
WTF and Wotif.com – happy coincidence?
that was a fun ride guys. well done
They’re not the coolest agency- but they’re definitely having fun!
Worst ad I have seen in a long time – I still don’t understand what Wotifia is?
I LOVE this. F#@KIN brilliant. Nice work gentlemen.
Its nice when the boys in adland get to have a bit of fun.
Brilliant client to work on. Look forward to seeing the next one.
BOOM!
Gave me a chuckle and made me want to jump on a plane somewhere. Job done.
Smells of Glenn.
Wotif we had some fun making ads and it actually showed through in the work? Great effort M&C and good on the client for buying the idea and execution. Wins all round.
I have no idea why you guys stuck this on here. It’s full of very young, very hateful jealous juniors. I tweeted it and have god know how many retweets already, so ignore the haters lads. I loved it. And well done Will and the boys at Heckler.
.I did this in 2008.
We could analyse this and pull it apart if it was trying to present itself as being uber cool or we can just enjoy it for the fact that doesn’t take itself at all seriously. I’m going for the latter- and hats off for getting singing arse bubbles past the client!
Demonstrates no one involved knows what a brand is or how to build one. A cool ad it is. Just like wotifs last cool ad from Leo’s. Look it up. Equally irreverent and equally irrelevant to the brand.
Won’t do a thing. Nice looking ad though – especially the tits and ass shots (I’m sure women don’t use wotif and therefore won’t be offended.
Dawso’s been on the trippy stuff again! x
Appalling. Why would you bother. Its seriously terrible. So bad.
Even for online. No excuse to make it.
This is just………..terrible.
‘Bad’ I’m glad I don’t share my life with the women you do.
My girls-wife and three daughters loved it.
It’s a bikini mate.
Get out of Roseville and visit bondi one weekend.
I have a request for Ben Welsh: could you tell your PR people to ease up on the “brutally simple idea” key message? It’s getting to be that every time you are quoted about some ad or another M&C’s done you remind us of what we already know. Yes, that’s your platform but, for God’s sake, we got it then, we get it now…please come up with another nail to hammer.
Having said that, congratulations on a silly, joyful piece of communication that all the haters on this blog would love to have in their folio. I have enormous respect for the talents of everyone involved in this.
I agree with “Bad”.
Dumb and self indulgent. So glad everyone had fun making it… while wasting the client’s money.
Does a brilliant job of ingraining a made up word based on another made up word for what ends?
Hey wotifweknewaboutadvertising ..WOTIF you fucked off and got back to running a few focus groups or something even less useful.
Or you and your boring mate Bad could have a sleepover at each other’s place.
Last time I checked, fart jokes and giant tits were the domain of 12 year old boys. Either the fossils who burped out this ad, no doubt giggling with dementia all the way to the grade, have age regressed, or the ill-judged male-centric targeting overshot its mark by – gee – a decade or two?
Should have stuck with this one Wotif.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3ne67hbSFYw
miss.
Oh dear How old are we-you must have spent hours writing that little diatribe.Such big words and all.Um might i suggest you check out what the top grossing movies are and the type of humour that makes them popular-.you might be surprised if not a littkle shocked to discover what people in the real world find funny
Why so serious? It’s a bit of fun.
Sad to see so many industry peers throwing stones behind the vail of anonymity.
Certainly got us talking though…
I like the work. Well done to all involved.
It’s a fun execution which does two things: gets the brand a top of mind connection with holiday fun and gets the sad, boring, dismal, uncreative dopey fucks something to get upset about on a Friday when they should be out having fun. Good result all round.
Love it. cheesy, cheeky, silly, stupid. Well done everyone, nice one Heckler!
I liked it better when Flight of the Conchords did it. Another unoriginal rip off job from M&C.
Most people out in the real world have no idea what or who this ad is for. True story. #winning
I agree with How old are we?.
We get paid way too much to turn out stuff this low brow.
And anyone comparing this to Flight of the Conchords – that’s insulting. They are way more funny, progressive, sophisticated in their ideas than this.
This ad is on autoplay on Youtube. Was interesting the first time – now I hate it.
It’s irritatingly memorable! The general public will love it- and certainly won’t spend the time dissecting it- have a feeling it’ll make them remember wotif regardless. Job done!
Big tits, farts and two dudes. Don’t women travel?