#Effies2025 | TBWA's City Lodge's SOS Grand Effie campaign
The Effie Awards reward effectiveness and impact in advertising, and TBWA\Hunt Lascaris’ SOS campaign embodies this, bringing together strategy, creativity and measurement into an example of disciplined creativity.
The campaign starts with the premise that the travel industry has changed and hotels are no longer only competing with each other; they face competition from Airbnb, novelty experiences and interesting curated finds.
In comparison, City Lodge is quite boring and predictable.
TBWA tops the Effies Awards SA
But the agency turned this perceived negative into a positive as Steph van Nielkerk, executive creative director at TBWA\Hunt Lascaris, explains.
“It all revolves around the insight that everyone’s got a bad story about a disappointing sta,y and it resonates because it is truly an experience that everyone relates to.”
But this was not enough, says van Niekerk.
“Advertising has changed, it’s not enough to create a great piece of work that entertains and, in this case, makes people laugh, it has to give more.
"The agency developed a new demand moment with an app where, if you find yourself in a bad stay situation, you can “push the SOS” button, and you are redirected to your nearest City Lodge.”
This took the campaign up a level and closed the loop.
Listen further
Listen further about how the campaign is about bravery and not a big budget, how City Lodge has always been a challenger brand, and how the long relationship between the agency and client has fostered trust that has led to this type of great work.
Look out for more Effie Awards' winners' interviews.
