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Laughing at travel

July 7, 2006

The travel industry doesn’t have much of a sense of humor. I mean, when is the last time you saw a TV ad about a place that made you laugh?

Just today, actually. And it’s the first time in a long time.

On Monday, travel search engine Kayak.com kicks off a $10 million TV ad campaign that satirizes the travel business, serious-minded destination ads, global warming, nudists and Satanists.

Snippets of the campaign are available online. My favorites are Amsterdam, hunting with the VP and Alaska.

I’m fascinated by these ads not because of what they say about travel, but about what they say about Kayak. Here’s a company that isn’t afraid to nibble at the hand that feeds it — and occasionally, to chomp down hard.

I like that.

Travel is so ripe for satirizing (and parody, as my friend Terry Riley has discovered on his excellent Travel Fox site).

Here’s hoping we’ll see more in the future.

Christopher Elliott is the author of Scammed: How to Save Your Money and Find Better Service in a World of Schemes, Swindles, and Shady Deals. Critics have called it “eye-opening” and “inspiring” — it’ll “grab your attention and won’t let go.” Order your copy now on Amazon, Barnes & Noble or iTunes.

2 comments

  • Chris in Alaska

    Kayak’s Alaska ad is funny and well-done–but it couldn’t be further from the truth, and it frustrates me that it perpetuates a falsehood that’s commonly believed outside of the state.

    Alaskan wildlife and scenery are in absolutely no danger from oil exploration. First of all, the bulk of Alaska’s tourism activity takes place farther than Washington, DC is from Boston (Alaska’s oil is located on a broad, flat, mostly uninhabited plane at the very northern tip of the state). Second, the wildlife that does frequent the area, such as caribou and polar bears, have actually shown an increase in numbers since oil was drilled in the 1970s–that’s how good the oil companies have been about keeping their environmental impact almost zero and actually working to improve the animals’ habitats. And newer technologies such as directional drilling mean that one small platform can cover far more of the deposits than before, eliminating most of the impact on the surface. While developing new technologies for energy usage is an important goal, in the short term, oil will be a necessity, and Alaskan oil is the farthest thing from a danger to our environment.

    I don’t work for an oil company and I don’t have any financial interests in it (other than what it does for our state’s economy). I’d say that more than 95% of Alaskan citizens agree with me–both Republican and Democrat (our former Democrat governor was one of the strongest proponents of developing Alaska’s oilfields). In fact, I have yet to meet a real Alaskan (someone who hasn’t just moved here) who is opposed to drilling in ANWR or anywhere else–once you actually take the time to become familiar with the situation, you’ll realize that the environmental activist organizations are painting a severely distorted view–and Kayak isn’t helping by latching on to the common misconception.

    While the commercial is funny and (hopefully!) will drive tourism up here, just know that nothing’s in danger up here and oil exploration is in the country and the state’s best interests.

  • Jean Borden

    Hmmm? I thought it was a cute, satirical ad; not a political commentary. I love it when people lighten up.

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