Budget: Aromatherapy
Budget needed to differentiate itself in 1999 by showcasing an enhanced car rental experience. The client wanted to attract customers seeking more enjoyable travel, beyond basic transport. The challenge was to communicate Budget's commitment to customer comfort and unique amenities like leather seats or CD players. The desired outcome was to increase brand preference by humorously exaggerating how Budget employees strived to make every trip better.
Creative Idea
Budget featured employees brainstorming ridiculous car rental amenities, like aromatherapy.
Budget's Rent a Car campaign is focused on making the driving experience more enjoyable by offering unique car rental options with extra amenities like leather seats and CD players. The creative idea playfully exaggerates the concept of enhancing customer experience, poking fun at the notion of adding unnecessary extras like aromatherapy candles to make renting a car more appealing.
Creative Strategy Deconstructed
Company
Budget possessed a premium fleet including Jaguars and Lincolns that they could offer at a surprisingly low price point. They had the operational capacity to provide luxury features while maintaining their core identity as a value-focused rental provider.
Category
The car rental category was historically dominated by dry, corporate messaging focused on logistics and reliability. Competitors often used earnest, high-brow imagery to sell 'premium' tiers, taking themselves and their luxury upgrades very seriously.
Customer
Travelers desired a more comfortable driving experience but were cynical about corporate 'perks' that felt like unnecessary upsells. They sought a brand that understood their practical needs without the pretentious marketing fluff often associated with luxury cars.
Culture
The late 1990s ushered in an era of ironic, self-aware advertising that rejected corporate polish. Consumers resonated with 'anti-advertising' that mocked the absurdity of marketing departments trying too hard to be trendy or lifestyle-oriented.
Company
Budget possessed a premium fleet including Jaguars and Lincolns that they could offer at a surprisingly low price point. They had the operational capacity to provide luxury features while maintaining their core identity as a value-focused rental provider.
Category
The car rental category was historically dominated by dry, corporate messaging focused on logistics and reliability. Competitors often used earnest, high-brow imagery to sell 'premium' tiers, taking themselves and their luxury upgrades very seriously.
Strategy:
Use self-deprecating humor to mock luxury gimmicks, positioning Budget as the honest provider of accessible premium driving experiences.
Customer
Travelers desired a more comfortable driving experience but were cynical about corporate 'perks' that felt like unnecessary upsells. They sought a brand that understood their practical needs without the pretentious marketing fluff often associated with luxury cars.
Culture
The late 1990s ushered in an era of ironic, self-aware advertising that rejected corporate polish. Consumers resonated with 'anti-advertising' that mocked the absurdity of marketing departments trying too hard to be trendy or lifestyle-oriented.
Strategy:
Use self-deprecating humor to mock luxury gimmicks, positioning Budget as the honest provider of accessible premium driving experiences.
Strategy Technique
Exaggerate to Reveal the Truth
Budget uses humorous exaggeration (aromatherapy) to differentiate its enhanced car rental experience. This reveals the truth that Budget offers genuinely better amenities like leather seats and CD players.
Explore Technique
Creative Technique
Make a Parody
The campaign mocks the convention of endlessly adding 'extras' by exaggerating it to absurd aromatherapy. This humorous exaggeration highlights Budget's actual commitment to desirable amenities like leather seats.
Explore Technique
