Airbnb seeks to explain and show off its bed and breakfast sharing service to the world at large in a new global campaign created by TBWA/Singapore, which takes viewers on a train journey through a painstakingly crafted miniature world. The video (below) which forms the spine of the campaign, was produced in one, continuous shot, with no computer graphics. The “Welcome to Airbnb” campaign aims to show viewers just how small the world really is and encouraging them to explore and discover what it has to offer through Airbnb, the service that has become known as one of the great success stories of the “Sharing economy.”
Welcome to Airbnb
The campaign will be initially launched through digital channels such as YouTube and Facebook, but will also be placed at cinemas in selected markets and will be amplified in Asia-Pacific, Europe and North America. The ambitious, 85-square-metre train set for the video took 30 specialists five weeks to build,and the landscape, which used 20 square-metres of plywood, 12 litres of glue and more than 160 sheets of plywood, took a team of craftsmen a combined total of over 2,400 hours to construct.
A new global campaign created by TBWA/Singapore for Airbnb takes viewers on a train journey through a painstakingly crafted miniature world
The video was shot in a warehouse in Auckland, New Zealand and the transitions were operated by a team of “Circus artists” who manually moved all of the transitions as the train glides along the track with a first person perspective putting the viewer right at the heart of the action. The castle seen in the video was created with a 3D printer before being built brick by brick, and there are more than 100 unique tress, 60 house and 240 miniature flowers, grasses and shrubs used in the spot. The team also created 96 figurines, with six of the figures representing real Airbnb guests. The ad was filmed in a single shot, but the making-of video that accompanies the campaign, reveals it took the team 85 takes to complete due to the sheer complexity of the shoot.
Welcome to Airbnb – Behind the Scenes
Jonathan Mildenhall, CMO of Airbnb, said “As you board the train,” in the film “You're transported into a magical world,” which represents “The heart of Airbnb.” He continues; “As you wind your way through some of the amazing listings Airbnb has to offer, you get a different perspective on the world.”
Mildenhall also feels the ad will stand up to multiple viewings, as “With each viewing, you see something unique and interesting that you didn't notice before,” which he believes mirrors the experience many people have when they use Airbnb.
The video which forms the spine of the campaign, was produced in one, continuous shot, with no computer graphics
TBWA won the Airbnb account back in September, and this is the first serious global work they have revealed thus far. As is generally the case with Airbnb, the recent campaigns have differed dramatically, with Pereira & O’Dell’s May ad simply a collection of landscapes and interiors and VCCP’s work from earlier this month telling an emotional Cold War story.
