IF/THEN vs. THE hotel

We recently returned from Las Vegas where we attended the MIX09 conference, following our branding work on it. We booked our stay at THE hotel at Mandalay Bay. What follows is an exploration in branding gone off. An exercise in bringing up the banal and selling it as THE exclusive. A coup for the lazy marketeer. Never mind the inconsistency of application. What matters here is THE idea!

Just to make sure everyone gets it, the hotel’s name is THE hotel. Not any Hotel, not A Hotel, but THE hotel. We tried hard to picture the meeting where THE idea was pitched. THE guy with THE dark glasses, and feet firmly encased in some expensive Italian loafers, sockless, of course, gold chains a-plenty, spinning tales of exclusive hotel experiences, THE very best in pampering and deserved luxury for THE discriminating spender.

Well. it doesn’t stop there. It goes on. From the lobby, you check in and should you get the urge to spend some hard earned cash on THE hotel’s merchandise, you have the opportunity to check out THE store.

Word of advice: ignore THE prices. keep moving. Pass THE cafe, without checking out THE menu.

Stop in THE coffeebar with THE bored staff.

People watch for a while in the company of a $4 bottle of Perrier. Move on. Stop in THE lounge for a quick game of pool, pivot on our heels and quickly walk away chased by THE sounds of loudly screaming… no, make that loudly relaxing, high-fiving mid-40s business travelers.

Get to your room and jot a note, reminding yourself to write a blog post about this on THE pad.

Sit back, think about it for a while and check out THE rates on phone use… Decide against using the room phone and settle for roaming charges when calling your 3year old instead.

Wonder about what THE sparkle could possibly be?

Feeling like you better leave this tasty surprise discovery morsel for later, much later, possibly never, you make your way to the bathroom where you are confronted with the ultimate.

And this makes it all worth it. Here you finally getting the joke and think to yourself that this may actually be a brilliant joke that you are part of. You laugh, things look better already and $4 Perrier seems not only OK, but actually worth it. You even consider randomly high-fiving business travelers on THE strip…