Carnival Cruise Line leans on Nick Offerman to pitch real-world fun

Want a respite from the constant scrolling and nonstop notifications? Looking for some good, old-fashioned fun? Go on a cruise—specifically a Carnival cruise.

That’s the message of Carnival Cruise Line’s latest campaign from TBWA\Chiat\Day NY. The campaign, which stars Nick Offerman, leans into the actor’s tough-yet-genial persona to showcase how fun on a cruise can bring out a person’s playful side. It’s the first new brand platform for Carnival Cruise Line in seven years.

Amy Martin Ziegenfuss, Carnival Cruise Line CMO, told Marketing Brew that the aim of the new brand platform is to emphasize the importance of making time for fun, especially when there are plenty of obstacles to doing so.

“Everybody needs fun. It’s a human need. But I think in today’s day and age, it’s ever more difficult to prioritize it,” Martin Ziegenfuss said. “We have these lovely devices and every kind of technology helping us be more efficient and connected and all those things, but it also sometimes keeps us from connecting on a more human level.”

The resulting brand platform and campaign are aimed at encouraging people to care about letting loose—without their phones distracting them. In the spot, Offerman takes a sledgehammer to his endlessly pinging phone before finding some screen-free, laugh-out-loud fun on a cruise.

For Carnival Cruise Line, tapping into the ideas of fun and of getting a break from technology made sense, because the company is in the “business of creating experiences” in real life, Martin Ziegenfuss explained.

While the campaign message might encourage viewers to eschew technology for experiences, the media buying and planning is representative of the world people live in today. The company is spending on traditional efforts like linear TV, print, and out-of-home, as well as a digital push with streaming, paid social, and performance marketing in the mix.

The brand’s pitch notably avoids reminders of a difficult economy or other non-technology-related stressors for prospective cruisers, instead focusing on a simpler and ideally more universal message. Martin Ziegenfuss said that was intentional.

“It’s a hard moment for a lot of people, and we hope that we can be a bright spot, if possible, for people,” she said, noting that the brand is aiming to be respectful of the current economic reality for many consumers. “We actually enable people to be able to take a vacation where maybe they wouldn’t be able to afford it if it was a land-based vacation, so we hope that we’re an antidote to the moment that’s happening.”