It's one of those workaday ads that usually pass you by, but for some reason I was drawn to a half-page full colour effort for Park Inn, which is a Radisson mid-market hotel brand. A young man in a jaunty cap and facial hair that whispers "I'm so now" looks directly at the camera, smiling the confident smile of someone who has life just where he wants it. A young woman in his embrace laughs euphorically, her face tilted towards the nourishing sun. This is their moment.
There is a graphic box with a multi-choice list of answers, but no question. We infer that the question is something along the lines of "What are these beautiful people celebrating?" because the options are: "a first date; a blind date; a Park Inn date." The tag line reads, "Hotels you can rely on: Park Inn by Radisson."
Which is fine until you think about it. A first date (or a blind date) in a mid-market hotel? It would be more convincing if one of the options was "A drunken one-night stand after the sales conference."
Then there is a second graphic box, which says "From £29". Now, if you're going on a "date" in a hotel that costs less than thirty quid, you either know each other extremely well and are saving up for a new sofa, or there is another financial transaction behind it.
Happily there is a third box. "You'll find Park Inn hotels a comfortable base for a getaway in over 20 UK destinations". The internet being a marvellous resource, I soon discovered that these include Heathrow, Watford, Walsall, Junction 1 of the M5, Doncaster, Harlow, Southend, Rotherham, Telford and Thurrock. So may I suggest a more convincing line? "If you ever get lucky in Harlow, we'll sort you out."
What's your number? I'll text you.
