The Story Behind Booking.com and Zulu Alpha Kilo’s Second Foray into the Super Bowl

Last year's Super Bowl marked the launch of the first major campaign from the New York outpost of Canadian-founded agency Zulu Alpha Kilo. The spot, for Booking.com, was a grandiose musical film starring Melissa McCarthy that went onto become one the most watched 2023 big game ads. 

The teams at Zulu Alpha Kilo and Booking.com returned to the Super Bowl in 2024 with one key aim: to go bigger and bolder. The end result features comedic legend Tina Fey highlighting how travel allows us to explore an array of different personas and personalities. She does so with the help of body-double cameos from Glenn Close, Jane Krakowski, and Jack McBrayer. 

The spot was directed by MJZ's Nick Ball with most of production taking place in Mexico, with the assistance of The Lift. 

To find out more, LBB's Addison Capper spoke to Tim Gordon, CCO and partner at Zulu Alpha Kilo New York, and Bridget Olone, marketing director - campaigns and creative at Booking.com.

LBB> After the success of last year's spot - and your first project together - what was the starting point for 2024? 

Tim> Not messing it up this time…obviously!

We had a huge amount of success last year (the most watched ad on YouTube, more than 118 million views) and that is a real testament to the Booking.com team and the relationship we forged. This year, together, we wanted to go bigger: more accommodations, more celebrities, and more hilarity. In the end I think we delivered not only amazing creative but a campaign that delivers on the new expression of Booking.YEAH, in the most hilarious of ways. 

Bridget> Last year was a big success and we wanted to build upon that as a brand in 2024. This year we want to showcase the wide range of accommodation choices that we offer; inspiring American travellers to feel the familiar feeling of ‘main character energy’ while they’re on vacation by encouraging them—through the seamlessness of the Booking.com app—to book whoever they want to be.

LBB> An overarching theme was one of bigger! More celebs, characters and, importantly for Booking.com, more accommodations. Was that a very conscious decision? Why? 

Tim> Well for one it's the Super Bowl so you always aim to go bigger, but it also aligns, as you mentioned, with one of Booking.com’s brand tenets: millions of accommodations. To really cut through the cultured US market the feeling was we had to find bigger and better ways to show all the different accommodations you could book and thus all the different types of travellers you could be. 

Bridget> With more accommodation choices and more possibilities on Booking.com, come more celebrity cameos and, of course, more fun!

LBB> Speaking of celebrities, why was Tina Fey perfect to front this year's spot? 

Tim> Well for one it’s Tina Fey, she is a comedic legend and lives on the Mount Rushmore of this generation’s comedic minds. Secondly, her wit and delivery of performance is perfect for a spot that sort of gets away from her. Finally, her signature look (glasses!) worked perfectly for the body doubles concept. 

Bridget> Beyond Tina’s impeccable reputation in the world of comedy and years of experience in television, her brand of humour and fun-loving personality is very much in line with our brand tone and personality. She’s really a great fit for Booking.com.

LBB> And how about the other celebrities. Why were they a good fit?

Tim> Jack [McBrayer] and Jane [Krakowski] were great fits because in a way they were what you’d expect for cameos with Tina. They actually added a little bit of a misdirect. That was key to the idea of Tina hiring these body doubles to help her out but then it got a little away from her. It was important that you don’t see Glenn Close coming. Speaking of Glenn Close, any time you get to end a spot with both Tina Fey and a cinematic legend, you must be doing something right. 

Bridget> We are all big fans of Glenn Close, Jane Krakowski and Jack McBrayer. They were perfectly cast as Tina’s body doubles and we hope that people resonate with their roles. They helped bring the creative to life in a fun, playful and comedic way.

LBB> From a production standpoint, how did you manage capturing multiple big-name talents considering their often tight schedules?

Tim> To be honest, everyone was really a team player. We shot Tina in New York City to work around her comedy tour but everyone else travelled to Mexico with us. It was a blast and wonderful to see everyone so invested in the project. 

Bridget> Everyone was excited about the creative and the idea and wanted to make it work. It was a long shoot, but we were able to coordinate pretty well with schedules being as hectic as they are!

LBB> You travelled to multiple countries for the shoot. Where did it take you and what was the experience like? 

Tim> We shot in multiple places in Mexico and here in NYC. It was less that there were a lot of countries but more so many different locations around Mexico. The production team at MJZ was phenomenal. 

Bridget> As Tim mentioned, it was an international shoot with many locations and many moving pieces. It was executed professionally and seamlessly, with great energy and a lot of fun. I can’t speak highly enough of the team at ZAK, but also MJZ and The Lift, our two production partners, and of course our wonderful director Nick Ball.

LBB> More generally, what was the production process like and what else did it involve? 

Tim> It was a very collaborative experience between us, Booking.com and Nick Ball for the entire process. Nick is one the funniest directors I know and not a bad guy either. He has been in the trenches with us all the way from the kick-off call to the final colour session. That of course was a huge help when you are rolling out such a big campaign. We also had the pleasure of collaborating with Paula Pell, Tina’s longtime writing partner. She was amazing and really helped us tailor the scripts to Tina’s comedic chops. 

Bridget> It was very collaborative. Tina was very close to the work and gave it a great deal of care and the team at Zulu Alpha Kilo were amazing partners for a second year running.

LBB> Tell me a bit about the relationship between Booking.com and ZAK and how it has evolved since last year's spot. 

Tim> I would say it has really grown in the sense that we are further in tune to Booking.com’s objectives—not just creatively, but from a business sense. We are working collaboratively to set long term strategies that produce great work (of course) but also set up the business to win in the US.

LBB> What does the rest of the year hold for you?

Bridget> While this new campaign launches at the Super Bowl, it is truly a fully 360 global campaign that will continue to evolve and expand to different channels and geographies as the year rolls on. It’s a campaign we’re all very proud of and another big year for Booking.com!

LBB> Any parting thoughts?

Tim> There is one important thing, and I can’t stress this enough, GLENN DID ALL HER OWN HORSE RIDING. She is a pro. Even the rearing part!

Bridget> We’re all so proud of the work and the collaboration between our teams, and we really hope it’s enjoyable for all those who watch it!