PHOTO: The redesigned World's Leading Cruise Line website asks consumers to vote on their favorite of four TV commercials. (Courtesy of Carnival Corp.)
The Super Bowl of advertising is, well, the Super Bowl. And now, Carnival Corp. will be there for the first time.
The parent company of nine well-known cruise brands will air a 60-second spot chosen by consumers who view four possibilities and vote for their favorite at the redesigned World's Leading Cruise Lines website.
The commercial, which will air during Super Bowl XLIX on Feb. 1 on NBC, will kick off Carnival's new multi-brand national marketing initiative.
A 60-second commercial during the Super Bowl can cost about $8 million on top of $1 million in production costs, according to Los Angeles ad man Rob Siltanen writing in Forbes. That's because 108 million people watch the Super Bowl, he wrote, and about half of them tune in to see the highly creative new commercials that debut.
"There is no bigger stage than the Super Bowl for telling our story, and we're excited about the opportunity to start a new dialogue with consumers about cruising and use their input in helping us pick the creative concepts," Carnival Corp. CEO Arnold Donald said. "Our goal is to convince those who have never cruised to give us a chance to show them why over 10 million people a year sail on one of our nine brands and why so many of our guests cannot wait to sail with us again."
The commercials were created by BBDO Atlanta in collaboration with Academy Award-winning cinematographer and Hollywood director Wally Pfister, who is best known for his work on "Transcendence," "Inception" and "The Dark Knight" trilogy.
The four semi-finalist commercials are now in full production. The final elimination round kicking off today will narrow the field to two finalists. Consumers who vote are entered into a drawing to win a cruise every year for life.
The four final commercials in the running:
• "Getaway": Cruising gives guests the chance to get away from all the stresses of life.
• "Cruise Virgin": A slightly racy commercial in which people tell consumers about their first time - on a cruise.
• "Message in a Bottle": Special moments of cruising are in a message in a bottle.
• "Mystery Spot": This idea contains a surprise that will remind people just how special the sea can be.
Carnival Corp. brands are Carnival Cruise Lines, Cunard, Holland America Line, Princess Cruises and Seabourn in the U.S.; AIDA Cruises in Germany; Costa Cruises in Italy; and P&O Cruises (Australia) and P&O Cruises (U.K.). They operate 101 ships totaling 214,000 lower berths.
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