Dive Brief:
- Carnival Cruise Line debuted a new advertising campaign in support of “Carnival Is Calling,” the company’s first new overarching brand platform in seven years, according to a press release.
- The “Find Your Fun Again” ads star actor Nick Offerman as he smashes his cellphone and breaks from everyday mundane tasks to enjoy sunny cruise activities like a waterslide. Developed with some of Offerman’s “Parks and Recreation” writers, the creative is meant to serve as a balm to what Carnival calls a “fun deficit.”
- “Find Your Fun Again,” which was made with creative agency TBWA\Chiat\Day NY, aims to win new customers to Carnival while shoring up loyalty with existing fans. The 360-degree media plan spans TV spots, out-of-home, print, radio and social.
Dive Insight:
Carnival wants to offer consumers a little levity amid a period of uncertainty in the U.S., with macroeconomic pressures expected to impact travel spending around the holidays. New ads respond to surveys conducted via One Pulse that show two-thirds of people are not having as much fun as they used to while 93% believe fun is critical to realizing a happier life, creating what the brand deems a “fun deficit.”
The root of the issue may be screen overload, Carnival argues in its campaign. A 30-second hero spot sees spokesperson Offerman working in a woodshop — a real-life passion for the actor — when his phone suddenly blows up with a deluge of noisy notifications, distracting him and his crew. The actor then smashes the device with a hammer and leaves to unwind on a Carnival cruise. In separate social videos, Offerman highlights a stat that claims the average person scrolls almost two miles daily on their phone.
“That’s a bummer,” Offerman says, before the ad cuts to him rushing down a Carnival waterslide screaming, “Not a bummer!”
Other ads without Offerman are also running as part of “Find Your Fun Again” and relay the same theme of unplugging. In one, a dad and his kids sit in a darkened basement addicted to video games before mom arrives to rip back the curtains and show them the light of Carnival cruises. A radio jingle revises “America The Beautiful” to address the screen-addled and position Carnival as a savior.
“America, America, you used to be so fun,” the tune goes. “But now you go to bed at night scrolling on your phone.”
“Find Your Fun Again” is the first major advertising push under Carnival’s larger “Carnival Is Calling” platform, which launched Nov. 1. The effort was led by CMO Amy Martin Ziegenfuss, who joined Carnival in 2023 from Hilton, where she created the hospitality giant’s “For The Stay” platform. Initiative, Omnicom Production and TBWA\Chiat\Day NY all contributed to the campaign.
While “Carnival Is Calling” seeks to reach new customers, it extends a celebrity anchored marketing strategy for the company. Past Carnival spokespeople include Shaquille O’Neal, Guy Fieri, Emeril Lagasse, Jonathan Bennett and Kathie Lee Gifford, the latter of whom helped introduce Carnival as a mass market brand.
