"Nation of Why Not"... not so hot

[jahcruiser5]

Along these lines... is anyone watching Royal's 2 new hour long commercials on the Travel Channel? They're on right now (EDT). The first is called "Why Not the Mediterranean" featuring Brilliance and the next one is called "Why Not the Caribbean" featuring Navigator. Part of the "Great Cruises" series, like Samantha Brown did, but these shows follow the travels of families/friends. So far, it's a great show...

 

- J

[klingoncruiser]

The old campaign is over, time to move on. I did not like this new one at first, but the did get better. Compared to the odd campaigns on Carnivore, these work nicely. The slow start has become a fairly nice campaign.

 

Tough times for RCL. Seems no matter what they do lately, people are whining. Check the other boards, the same is going on there as well. RCL set such a good standard that it has been painful moving backwards. However I still find the service, food and ships meet my expectations. When that stops, I will have to find another cruise line. I have tried several lines, all have their strengths and weaknesses. I prefer RCL.

[aqhacruiser]

I do not like the new campaign either and miss the old theme. I'm not dwelling in it, just commenting on it and I think it was a waste of money. It just doesn't capture the excitement of a cruise experience like the other one did. NCL commercials for free style were genuis, if that was RCCL's intent to compete with a free style concept commercial, it doesn't even come close. JMO:)

[KyMack]

As I sit and watch the Travel Channel, the RCCI advertisements of

"A Nation of Why Not" runs at almost every commercial break...

 

RCCI is our favorite cruise line. Is it just me, but I'm not thrilled at all with these commercials.

I do miss the lively old adds with "hey Johnny" music.

 

I wander if RCCI regrets the change in advertisement companies.

Have the commercials been effective?

 

 

 

I don't like the Why Not commercials at all. Something eerie and strange about them.

[EGG]

I'm just adding my 2 cents in case someone from the company is reading this. The new commercials are horrible. Get a new advertising company.

[LoneStarJeffe]

I learned long ago that I have a "deaf ear" when it comes to marketing. However, I do know that advertising is not intended to be "likeable" as much as "memorable" by the target audience. In other words, will it drive demand and insure RCL is considered as an option? Also, the media has shifted and although the ads do not play well on TV spots, they work pretty good on banner type online ads. Finally, and I suspect this is the major purpose of the new campaign, they allow RCL to differentiate themselves from the competition. As soon as Oasis of the Seas is launched, they will incorporate all the unique new features of that ship into the "Why not?" campaign.

 

I am curious about the target audience. Obviously first time cruisers but I also question how effective it might be for existing cruisers who have never cruised with RCL? I do not believe it targets existing RCL cruisers at all.

 

My personal favorite? I liked "Get out there" much better.

[Aquahound]

The slow start has become a fairly nice campaign.

 

Yea, like it or not, they managed to secure 3 hours of advertising on the Travel Channel last night....2 hours of which were "Why Not" themed. That's a pretty good plug for them.

[gjkubel]

I hate the new commercials on many levels, most of which have also been discussed already. However, to add another reason (and I understand there are international people on these boards so I can only offer my perspective), but I am a citizen of the United States, and I'm quite happy about that. I don't need to get a new citizenship to go on a cruise--furthermore, I don't want to. I think Americans in particular tend to be very patriotic, and could find it borderline insulting for some to have RCI imply that we should become a citizen of another nation, even a fictional one of "why not" which, as many have pointed out, does not make sense in and of itself nor evoke the desire to take a cruise.

 

I really hope they realize this was a bad ad campaign and get rid of it ASAP.

[temple1]

I'm afraid I also have a deaf ear to a lot of advertising. But, I think they should have kept the old music - to me - that announced Royal Caribbean with a certain level of excitement I didn't get from the new ads.

[David4]

Bottom line is that only the RCCL marketing people know for sure it is working. But I do miss the here comes Jonny song.

[Andipanda1]

It seems to be a response to the NCL marketing campaign "Whatever".

Not a great campaign, either?

[Steuben1]

OK, everyone is saying that these new commercials are awful, but am I the only person out there who answers the question "Do you have what it takes to be a citizen of our nation?" with a very enthusiastic "YES", and then proceeds to raise my hand and take the oath..."Do you solemnly swear to start every day by asking, Why Not?" YES, YES, YES!!! My son caught me talking to the tv last night and just rolled his eyes.

[jst]

I agree with Temple1 as soon as you heard the music, you turned around (if not watching)because you recognised the music. The new one is a little too far out in left field and the mute button works great!!! and yes I am also a stock holder, and have run a business where we pulled one of our commercials because after seeing it a few times it got on our nerves. As previously mentioned you can always go back to something tried and true if the new thing is not working, or unpopular.

[DEIx15x8]

Right now no one in the cruise industry has good ads so it's a loss across the board. Those Carnival ones about the new smell are terrible (but still better than the random world record ads they used to run). Norwegian has never had a good ad from what I remember. The ads used to be better. The "Get out there" ads from RCCL and the class song ads from CCL were both great ads. I don't remember what ads they used but my favorite slogan from RCCL is still the "Like no vacation on Earth" slogan (minus that painting on the hull, who's idea was that?).

[DarthGrady]

Right now no one in the cruise industry has good ads so it's a loss across the board. Those Carnival ones about the new smell are terrible (but still better than the random world record ads they used to run). Norwegian has never had a good ad from what I remember. The ads used to be better. The "Get out there" ads from RCCL and the class song ads from CCL were both great ads. I don't remember what ads they used but my favorite slogan from RCCL is still the "Like no vacation on Earth" slogan (minus that painting on the hull, who's idea was that?).

 

Totally agree, those "world record" ads were terrible. A notion widely shared on the Carnival boards as well. The new ones with the annoying guy are better, but not much. I liked their Bobby Darin "Beyond the Sea" spots the best, but I digress.....

 

Apparently I am in the vast minority here but I actually enjoy the new RCI ads. I think they're pretty neat looking, definitely unique and surreal. They remind me of the old Monty Python "Gilliamimations". As a longtime Pyton fan, I guess I could be biased though.

[SamFritz]

If I hadn't already experienced the product, the "Why Not?" ads would turn me off. If I were looking for my first cruise today, I'd probably go to NCL's website first, then Carnival (if I could get past my DW's opinion that they are just a party boat), I might even check out Princess just on name recognition, before I'd get around to Royal. The sooner they drop the "Why Not?" the better.

[Ocean Spirit]

It's nice to see that I'm not alone when it comes to the new ad campaign.

I didn't like them when I first saw them and thought they may grow on me but they didn't.

 

Since RCCL is my favorite line, I think the change in marketing companies was a mistake.

 

Appreciate hearing everyone's thoughts on the matter.