George Clooney, John Legend and Scottie Pippen want you to travel.
All three celebrities star in new campaigns tied to the travel industry: Clooney promotes a fundraiser that offers the chance to visit him in Italy, John Legend stars in a new Vrbo ad that promotes visiting loved ones and Scottie Pippen offers up his own Chicago home through Airbnb.
It’s no coincidence that travel companies are using familiar faces in their campaigns just as the travel industry is starting to rebound.
“I think it’s an effective way to market at the moment,” said Jonathon Day, an associate professor at Purdue’s School of Hospitality and Tourism Management. “It’s sort of an implicit endorsement that it’s safe to travel … It’s just reinforcing the (idea) that people like me or people who I would aspire to or respect say it’s OK to travel, so it must be OK.”
A stay at Scottie Pippen’s Airbnb
For Airbnb’s latest promotion, the short-term rental company has partnered with two-time Olympic gold medalist and six-time NBA champion Pippen to promote the platform’s unique stays.
Pippen is offering up his Chicago home to up to four guests on Aug. 2, Aug. 4 and Aug. 6 for $92 a night — a nod to the year he became a gold medalist.
Guests will be able to watch the Olympic games during their stay and explore Pippen’s home, which features an indoor basketball court, personal movie theater, outdoor pool, arcade room and indoor sauna. Pippen will also greet his guests virtually upon…
