City Lodge Hotels offer holiday accommodation at some of the best rates in the country. But the December period of Summer holidays in South Africa brings a barrage of offers and advertising messages from literally hundreds of competitors. So City Lodge needed a campaign based on an insight that would make South Africans take notice of their discounted rates.

We created a campaign of radio spots that turned Christmas holiday cheer into deep-seated fear. So, yes, our voice over narrated our tales with suitable unhinged sardonic humour. And, yes, we set that to the discordant horror-scape of our orchestrated track. But then, to douse any remaining festive holiday glow, we sprinkled each spot with sound effects that encapsulated the most migraine-inducing aspects of the holiday reality.

With a campaign budget of just R64 000 (approx. $3500), dwarfed by the usual extraordinary Festive Season campaigns, the City Lodge’s Holiday after the Holiday outdid all expectations. The radio and social ads were picked up by the country’s biggest marketing media show on national radio gaining share of voice. And in a notoriously dead month (January), the campaign increased booking by 25%. So, while the campaign was loved, more importantly it worked.