Marriott Bonvoy’s First Commercial Debuts During Oscars

By: Ben Schlappig

Published: February 25, 2019

27 comments

The Marriott Bonvoy loyalty program launched in mid-February, replacing Marriott’s previous three separate loyalty programs — Marriott Rewards, Ritz-Carlton Rewards, and Starwood Preferred Guest.

Personally I don’t really get why they decided to rebrand the loyalty program, and give up on the name recognition of Marriott Rewards. And I especially don’t get why they chose Bonvoy as the name of the program… eh?

Yesterday during the Oscars, Marriott Bonvoy had their first TV ad since the launch of the program. Now, I’m tempted to say something sassy like “rather than spending money sponsoring the Oscars, maybe they should work on their IT, informing people if they were hacked, etc.”

But I also recognize that if they chose to go with a name like “Bonvoy,” they need to market it, because it’s a made up word that most people aren’t familiar with.

So, here’s Marriott’s 60 second ad during the Oscars:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m9hjvISsDWg

My thoughts:

The ad is sorta really stupid and doesn’t have any sort of a message; it’s ironic that they’re trying to make Marriott Bonvoy more than just a loyalty program, yet the video has no depth or actual message
At the same time, maybe just saying “Bonvoy” over and over and over and over at different hotels will make it stick in peoples’ heads?
I feel like they could have used more spectacular hotels than they did; they use the W Verbier twice, but no St. Regis Maldives, St. Regis Bora Bora, Tambo del Inka, Mystique, Le Meridien Paro, etc.?

I mean, at this point I’m just randomly yelling out “Bonvoy” for no reason. It reminds me a bit of the HeadOn commercials that used to air… apply directly to the forehead!

So I guess the ad worked, as much as I found it uninspiring?

So my take is that the ad is stupid, but perhaps it works if the goal is just to build brand recognition.

What’s your take on the Marriott Bonvoy commercial?

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JB Guest

March 1, 2019, 12:40 pm

I remember calling Marriott Customer Service with a small (points) issue to be resolved. At the end of the call, I asked if the agent knew about the rumors about the program being renamed to Bonvoy. The agent replied: "You're the first one bringing this up. I haven't heard about it." She went on to explain that the rumor must be false, as Marriott consulted customer service about a possible name change and the entire department was unanimous about keeping it the way it is, as the new program was already too much change for a lot of clients and created a nightmare of complaints and issues to resolve. A change in name would just create another shit storm for them. And the next day, Marriott send out an email confirming the upcoming name change. Lacek Group is behind the name change, as they were for the 29 Ways fiasco back in the autumn. They don't seem to get hints from the general public, nor from Marriott staff. They are alienating existing customers and hotel owners in an attempt to attract a few hipsters that will just stick to their cheaper Airbnb anyway. Where are the Marriott CEO and Loyalty VP now? No fancy David Flueck presentation? They must be hating it too.

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K Guest

February 26, 2019, 5:54 am

I agree with Lucky, Stogieguy and especially Christian. Not with Bonvoy-gate (Boy! Aren't you the touchy one!) Sometimes the name is everything! In this case, it IS annoying. During the Oscars, they made it worse by playing the ad over and over. They picked a name (pulled out of the sky-pun intended for this blog), try to feature an "academy award" short film when you're watching the best of the best movies, actors, actresses, etc, and end up selling the complete opposite of what they "reimagined." The word, not the name, Bonvoy, is the first six letters of the French word "bon voyage," a beautiful word, a beautiful language! But you can't transform or shorten a beautiful French word into a cut-off, cutesich English term! It's kindergarten skills! For business and marketing, it's a turnoff. In short, it was the worst performance of (not the night) the year!

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Miles Ahead New Member

February 25, 2019, 10:47 pm

"Bonvoy", said no one, ever, who was not paid by Marriott... I agree with others, save the marketing dollars, keep Marriott Rewards and make a decent loyalty experience for your members.

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The Real Paul Member

February 25, 2019, 7:35 pm

I have to admit, Marriott will get 97 more nights from me until I lock in lifetime Platinum. After that....Bonvoy

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Bill New Member

February 25, 2019, 6:45 pm

Did they plagiarise Etihad's tagline of Flying Reimagined?

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