HomeAway Prepares to Launch National Integrated Marketing Campaign Based on 'National Lampoon's Vacation'

HomeAway Prepares to Launch National Integrated Marketing Campaign Based on 'National Lampoon's Vacation'

- Campaign kicks off Super Bowl Sunday with debut of mock movie trailer style commercial featuring Chevy Chase and Beverly D'Angelo reprising their roles as Clark and Ellen Griswold - Ad provides sneak peek of a new short film about the Griswolds - Integrated campaign includes national television and online ads, social media, and a microsite that incorporates the film, a game, and user-generated content for a national consumer promotion

AUSTIN, Texas, Jan. 26 /PRNewswire/ -- As it marks its fifth anniversary, HomeAway, Inc. - the world's leading online vacation rental marketplace - today announced the details of its first national integrated marketing campaign launching on Super Bowl Sunday.

(Photo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20100126/DA43511-a)

(Photo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20100126/DA43511-b)

(Logo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20090409/DA97315LOGO-a)

Beginning with a movie trailer style commercial and extending to a microsite with a new short film featuring actors Chevy Chase and Beverly D'Angelo reprising their roles from the popular 1980s movie "National Lampoon's Vacation," the campaign represents a comprehensive approach to reach and engage consumers across a full spectrum of media platforms. The key message throughout the campaign highlights the significant value that travelers get from a vacation home - "rent a house for half the cost of a hotel."

"In just five years, HomeAway has become the largest international company in the industry, yet most consumers are still unfamiliar with vacation rentals," says Brian Sharples, founder and chief executive officer of HomeAway®. "Now is the right time to catapult our successful online marketing efforts with a major national brand and awareness-building campaign that will not only showcase vacation rentals as a better alternative to hotels, but also reinforce HomeAway as the vacation rental leader."

The multi-faceted, integrated campaign developed and produced in conjunction with HomeAway's agency of record, Publicis in the West, includes:

-- National Television Advertising - The campaign kicks off with the
airing of a 30-second commercial during the third quarter of Super
Bowl XLIV on Feb. 7. The spot, which reunites actors Chevy Chase and
Beverly D'Angelo in their roles as Clark and Ellen Griswold from the
"National Lampoon's Vacation" movie, is a mock movie trailer giving a
sneak peek of a short film based on the original movie. In the Hotel
Hell Vacation film, Clark surprises Ellen with a romantic second
honeymoon before meeting up with their son Rusty and his family for an
extended vacation. In classic Griswold family tradition, they run
into plenty of travel mishaps along the way. The spot, directed by
award-winning director Bryan Buckley, drives consumers to HomeAway.com
to view a 15-minute movie. Additional airings of the commercial will
appear during programming on media partners secured by media agency
Optimedia, including the Travel Channel, Discovery Channel, HGTV, TBS,
USA Network, and Food Network.
-- Online Advertising - A complementary digital advertising plan will
reach consumers in HomeAway's targeted demographic. Online
advertising will appear on general interest and travel-focused web
sites, including About.com, Conde Nast Traveler's concierge.com,
iExplore, Yahoo!, and Google, among others.
-- Social Media - HomeAway is also leveraging social media to spread the
word about the campaign. The company has established Facebook and
Twitter accounts for consumers to follow and interact with Clark
Griswold at http://www.facebook.com/griswoldclark and
http://twitter.com/CkGriswold.

In addition to broadcast and online advertising, HomeAway created a Hotel Hell Vacation-branded microsite for the campaign, which features:

-- Exclusive Video Content - Consumers will be able to view the mock
movie trailer commercial, full Hotel Hell Vacation film, and special
scenes from the original "National Lampoon's Vacation."
-- User-Generated Content Contest with $40,000 in Prizes - As part of a
contest on the microsite, consumers can share their stories of hotel
horrors in the form of a text, photo or video entry for the chance to
win one of four $10,000 family vacations at a HomeAway vacation
rental. Participants may enter any of four themed categories,
including "Outrageous Hotel Bills," "Cramped Hotel Quarters," "Wish I
Had a Kitchen," and "Other Hotel Woes," beginning Feb. 7. The public
will be invited to vote between March 2-9 for the best stories, and
winners will be announced in mid-March.
-- Interactive 'Griswolds Getaway' Online Game - A proprietary, free
video game invites players to try their hand at stacking luggage on
top of the Griswold's Wagon Queen Family Truckster. As luggage falls
from the sky, players have to grab and stack the different items while
avoiding flying obstacles that can knock the luggage off the top of
the car. Players, and the Truckster, journey through five tricky
levels (including a stop at Cousin Eddie's house) to the final pay-off
at a spacious vacation rental. Players may share the game with
friends through e-mail and Facebook on the microsite.

Finally, beginning in late spring, HomeAway plans to take its exact replica of the Family Truckster on the road to visit popular vacation destinations to further spread the word about the benefits and value of vacation rentals.

"Vacation rentals offer so many benefits compared to hotels - they give travelers more room to relax, more privacy, and kitchens so you don't always have to eat out," says Sharples. "This campaign will highlight all of these benefits to convey the unique value that travelers can find at HomeAway.com."

Through a promotional licensing agreement with Warner Bros. Consumer Products, the company has use of the "National Lampoon's Vacation" property.

NATIONAL LAMPOON'S VACATION and all related characters and elements are trademarks of and © Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc.

(s10)

About HomeAway, Inc.

HomeAway, Inc., based in Austin, Texas, is the worldwide leader in online vacation rentals, representing nearly 430,000 paid vacation rental home listings throughout 120 countries. HomeAway offers an extensive selection of vacation homes that provide travelers with benefits, including more room to relax and added privacy for less than the cost of traditional hotel accommodations, as well as full kitchens and extra amenities such as private pools. In addition, the company makes it easy for owners of vacation rental properties to advertise their rental properties and manage their bookings online. The HomeAway portfolio includes the leading vacation rental websites HomeAway.com, VRBO.com and VacationRentals.com in the United States; HomeAway.co.uk and OwnersDirect.co.uk in the United Kingdom; HomeAway.de in Germany; Abritel.fr and Homelidays.com in France; and HomeAway.es in Spain. For more information, please visit www.HomeAway.com.

About Publicis in the West

Founded in 2001, Publicis in the West is part of Publicis USA, the North American regional operating unit of Publicis Worldwide, the largest global advertising network within Publicis Groupe. Publicis in the West are experts in creating contagious ideas that ignite and change conversations. The Seattle team has created award-winning holistic campaigns for clients including T-Mobile, HomeAway, Citi, Hewlett-Packard, Tap Project - UNICEF, Coinstar, RealNetworks and Washington's Lottery.

Publicis Worldwide is part of the Paris-based Publicis Groupe, the world's fourth largest communications company. With worldwide revenues of $4.8 billion, it is among the fastest-growing communications companies in the world. For more information, please go to www.publicis-usa.com.

Photo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20100126/DA43511-a
http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20090409/DA97315LOGO-a
http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20100126/DA43511-b
PRN Photo Desk, photodesk@prnewswire.com
Source: HomeAway

CONTACT: Eileen Buesing of HomeAway, Inc., +1-512-493-0375,
ebuesing@homeaway.com; or Kyle Rose of MM2 Public Relations, +1-214-379-3704,
kyle.rose@mm2pr.com, for HomeAway

Web Site: http://www.homeaway.com/
http://www.publicis-usa.com/

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