Royal Caribbean ads focus on guest 'wows'

By Tom Stieghorst

Travelers may have seen the last of Royal Caribbean International’s shell phone.

The conch shell telephone that was the centerpiece of Royal Caribbean’s “The Sea is Calling/Answer it Royally,” ads has disappeared from Royal’s 2013 campaign, which began running on television Jan. 7.

The new ads are built around a “Designed for Wow” theme that plays up unique activities on Royal ships that lead to a “wow” moment for passengers. “It was inspired by our guests,” said Lisa Bauer, executive vice president of global sales and marketing. 
 

Bauer said it played on the often-seen expression on the face of passengers the first time they step aboard and see the Royal Promenade on some of the ships. 

The ads, shot aboard Allure of the Seas in December, were produced by JWP in New York, the same agency that did “The Sea is Calling." Bauer said the new ads are an evolution of the previous campaign and are less about appealing to prospective cruisers and more about the Royal brand.

“We want the customer to understand what Royal Caribbean has to offer.” 
 

She said the ads would provide great talking points for travel agents interested in selling the line.

The first ad includes a young man surfing on the FlowRider machine, a woman on the ship's zipline, a woman watching the Broadway musical Chicago and a mother and child watching a dive at the Aqua Theater.

A voice at the end of the 30-second spot sums up: “All this only on Royal Caribbean.”
 

“It isn’t about any single feature,” Bauer said, “but about all of the things that are only on our ships. We call it the sum of the parts.”