What captures the attention of people is the impact an advertisement has on its audience. Whether it affects people physically or emotionally, people need to want what the brand has to offer. By bringing a desirable and positive outlook on an average person’s life, Holiday Inn Express rose to the top of the charts with its “Stay Smart” campaign. These new ads follow a formula, where ordinary people are endowed with remarkable talents after a well-rested and life-changing stay at a Holiday Inn Express.
Watch the “Stay Smart: Acupuncture” Ad
This first ad features a delivery man who turns out to be a talented acupuncturist. The patient, unaware that a delivery man is performing the service for her, is surprisingly calm and much more relaxed. When the actual acupuncturist comes back from his lunch break, the patient is surprised yet confused about how the delivery man was able to relieve her stress.
Watch the “Stay Smart: Equation” Ad
This next ad shows a visiting parent of a dance major who becomes a secret genius mathematician. He solves an impossible (and in reality, non-existant) math problem and is praised by the math professor at the institution. Although the professor is confused as to how the parent was able to solve the equation once informed that he was a visiting parent, the fact that staying at a Holiday Inn Express seemed like the explanation for the miracle.
By giving these extraordinary skills to ordinary people, audiences feel like they can have a life-changing experience from staying at a Holiday Inn Express. These quirky, yet charming ads give people the experience of hope and excitement in their daily lives, emotions that give advertisers the upper hand with its audience. The mystery and wonder of what’s to come give a myriad of possibilities that are left to the audience’s imagination. The cliff-hangers in these ads that are only explained by “a stay at a Holiday Inn Express” give endless possibilities, making it the most successful as they are left to interpretation. By giving the power to the people, the brand gains unlimited power in the advertising world.