Vacation’s Debut TV Ad Shows the Power of a Brand World

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Sunscreen brand Vacation only launched in 2021 but it’s already become a textbook example of how a new arrival can turn a clear consumer pitch into a coherent and emotionally appealing brand world. Its first TV commercials are a great opportunity to see that world expand and explore how it works.

Vacation’s brand offer is a very simple one – they’re the sunscreen that cares about leisure as well as protection. The way they do that is by offering a range of scented sunscreen products. So alongside your SPF30 protection you get scents that fit the vibe of your vacation, like whipped cream or the brand’s signature tropical fruit-inflected scent. “The world’s best-smelling sunscreen” is the brand’s tagline and also its promise.

Bringing that promise to life has involved the careful creation of a particular aesthetic, one that mixes nostalgia for childhood vacations with a witty, knowing tone of voice. It manifests in this debut TV ad, a pastiche of retro TV sunscreen advertising in every way from the classic poolside framing to the cheesy voiceover and even the same fonts as 80s ads. But there’s also a wink to the audience not to take the ad entirely seriously, with a sunscreen sommelier opening the bottle of Vacation using a corkscrew.

It’s a beautiful example of a commercial that’s using retro imagery to associate a brand firmly with a category and build sensory and emotional appeal, while also demonstrating the self-awareness of more modern ads. And it keeps the product and its selling point (or rather smelling point) firmly at the centre of the work.

You can see how well this works in the Test Your Ad Pro results, where Vacation easily beats category norms on all three of our main metrics. In a category – Fragrances and Cosmetics – where the average long-term Star Rating is a low 1.9-Stars, Vacations’ 3.2-Star score puts it in the top 5% for the sector. It also earns a strong Spike Rating, indicating a very positive potential to drive short-term sales, essential for a highly seasonal product.

Maybe the most impressive result though is its 83% Brand Fluency. That may not seem high but it’s firmly above the Fragrances and Cosmetics average from a brand that has only existed for five years and has never been on TV before. For a TV debut from a new brand, that’s extremely impressive Brand Fluency and shows the payoff to Vacation’s coherent, immersive brand world.

When we look at the Test Your Ad Pro diagnostics, Vacation’s skill in brand-building is even more apparent. The top three Key Associations for the ad are “Sunscreen”, “Vacation” and “smell” – the brand’s name, category and selling point. You couldn’t ask for more useful takeaways from a debut commercial. It’s the power of a coherent aesthetic in action.