Kyiv-Based Creative Agency Bickerstaff.734 Showed How Tourist Advertising in Russia Looks Like Now

As a result of the attacks of the Russian army on a number of Ukrainian cities, the country saw the destruction of hundreds of schools, hospitals and residential buildings. But most of the Russian audience believe the catastrophe in Ukraine is overrated, refusing the truth of all the photos of destroyed houses and cities.

Bickerstaff.734 wanted to convey the truth to the audience, showing the full scale of the destruction. To reach out to ordinary Russians, the agency chose the topic of tourism, as the most large companies specializing in renting accommodation abroad — Airbnb and Booking — left the Russian market.

Since tourism has become a limited option for Russians, Bickerstaff.734 created a website imitating Airbnb service with unusual tourist locations with the support of the State Agency for Tourism Development of Ukraine (SATD). Among the locations are ruined apartments, where it offers to relax. When you book an apartment, you will see an offer to go to a Telegram bot account with the truth about the war in Ukraine.

“Just a month ago, a huge number of people in Russia travelled, booked tickets and accommodation in various countries. During the war in Ukraine, Russia managed to achieve a lot, for example, complete isolation, the departure of such services as Booking and Airbnb. It is about the isolation that we wanted to cover in this campaign” — says Ilia Anufrienko, founder and creative director of Bickerstaff.734. 

The impetus for the creation of this campaign was the news from home rental firm Airbnb. This company has been vocal in its support of Ukraine. And in the beginning of March Airbnb suspended all operations in Russia and Belarus, and also stopped users of the home rental site from both countries from making any bookings.

Indeed agency was responsible for the development of the website and the technical support of the project. Also, as a part of the creative campaign, Bickerstaff.734 created banners with photos of destroyed Ukrainian cities and promotional videos.

Ilia Anufrienko commented: “The Russian government proudly talks about sugar prices that will be restored soon and everything will be fine, but who and how will restore the opportunity for Russians to see something else, not only Kamenogorsk and Saratov? If the Russians don't want to be isolated and bottled up in their destruction and aggression, it's important to know the truth about this war and start resisting the regime”.