Airbnb exhibits the many ways to vacation with ‘Categories’
From a Flintstones cave to a giant potato, Airbnb’s new spots show how its ‘Categories’ feature helps consumers discover the prettiest – or the zaniest – properties.
Booking a hyper-specific holiday home has never been easier thanks to Airbnb’s new ‘Categories’ feature. The four new spots, developed by Airbnb’s in-house creative team, highlight its biggest change to the vacation rental platform in a decade.
Introduced in June, the tool siphons Airbnb’s 20,000 rentable properties by their unique features into several different Categories, such as ‘OMG!,’ ‘Amazing pools,’ ‘Design’ and ‘Caves.’
“This innovative product – and what it can unlock for consumers – is the inspiration for our campaign,” said Scott Trattner, vice-president of creative at Airbnb.
Each spot highlights a different category. ‘OMG!,’ for example, follows a mother and young daughter who leave the big city of Chicago for a getaway in the heart of potato country – specifically in a big potato in Idaho. The OMG! factor comes in when the duo notices the property’s giant above-ground tuber. Mashed Potato Time, a 1962 oldie from teenybopper songstress Dee Dee Sharp, plays throughout the heartfelt ad.
Another uncommon category, ‘Caves,’ also makes its debut. This spot chronicles a group of friends taking a much-deserved break by retreating to prehistoric times. The group rent a cave home in Boulder, Utah, where besides living under a rock, they spend their days hiking in Grand Staircase-Escalante Park and swimming in nearby ponds. The spot also features the befitting, timeless theme song of the animated television series The Flintstones.
Advertisement
Diverse as the locations are, the campaign’s common thread is that each spot is a slideshow of candid photos taken by Airbnb guests, rather than a polished reel shot by a cinematographer. The superbly-chosen soundtrack must also be acknowledged; other spots feature Yello’s 1985 hit Oh Yeah and Coolio’s Fantastic Voyage from 1994.
“We asked ourselves, ‘How can we bring to life the magic of Airbnb Categories?’ and went to work on how to tell the most emotionally resonant stories that each category makes possible,” Trattner said. “It’s fun to see our brand show up in truly iconic ways around the world, and we couldn’t be more proud of the team for this momentous lift.”
For more, sign up for The Drum’s daily US newsletter here.