“Hotel conference rooms are where business people sleep through conferences.”
“Hotel lounges are the best place for lounging ”
“And the best dot com for booking hotels is hotels.com.”
These are just a handful of the cheeky quotes from Hotels.com brand ambassador Captain Obvious. The brand created this character who says the most obvious things to show consumers the obvious place to book hotel rooms is hotels.com.
Simple? Yes.
But simple is powerful. It’s one of the most successful ad campaigns in recent history.
And there’s a powerful lesson for all of us in it?
Everything Captain Obvious does is playful and he creates obvious solutions to problems even problems with the actual commercials themselves…
Ex. When Facebook silenced ads on their videos, Hotels.com added subtitles and a sign language interpreter to the Capt. Obvious commercials.
Capt. Obvious:1
Facebook: 0
How often do you and your team find yourselves saying:
“We need to find a way to stand out in a crowded industry.”
or
“How can we differentiate ourselves with our marketing and promotion?”
We’ve all said that or at least something to that effect because every industry is crowded and competitive. The best way to elevate and separate yourself from the competition is to take the obvious course of action.
Why don’t more people do this? Because in this era of digital distraction the obvious is hidden in plain sight. How do you find the obvious? Study history because it holds the greatest business book you’ve probably never heard of…
Obvious Adams: The Story of a Successful Businessman.
The book’s character Obvious Adams was basically Capt. Obvious before there was a Capt. Obvious. (1916 to be precise.)
I’ve republished this hidden gem of a book for you. Along with an afterword and foreword I wrote to serve as an action plan to help you find the obvious hidden in plain sight in your business.
It’s now available on Amazon here:
Kindle & Audio: https://amzn.to/2MVmrEI
Print: https://amzn.to/2Dp4ERZ
P.S. Don’t take my word for it that it’s the best business book you’ve never heard of. Here’s what the New York Times had to say:
“The young man who is going to seek his fortune in the advertising business should have Obvious Adams for a handbook. Indeed, any young man who is going to seek his fortune in anything might be aided by the common sense and business acumen displayed in this little volume.” – The New York Times