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Airbnb aims for a big global hug with ‘Is Mankind?’

We’ve been expecting some fireworks since Jonathan Mildenhall – of Coca-Cola and Mother fame – joined go-go accomodation giant Airbnb a couple of years ago but the company doesn’t seem to have done much on the ad front. No doubt he’s been doing social this and that.

A while ago he appointed TBWA Chiat Day, currently piling on the emotion for many of its clients, and it’s produced – surprise, surprise – an emotional ad for Airbnb. Airbnb has been supporting various ‘good’ causes, like Pride Week around the US. This is a more general effort called ‘Is Mankind?’ Also ‘Is Man Kind?’

You can see why Airbnb wants to position itself on the the side of the angels – especially as it’s sometimes tormented by its users behaving in a decidedly un-angelic manner. And Mildenhall’s no fool, having revived Coke’s advertising and finally winning the Cannes Advertiser of the Year gong for the company in 2013.

Mildenhall, by the way, decribes himself as a “global thought leader and practitioner in the worlds of business strategy, marketing and creative excellence.” Well why beat around the bush?

Not entirely convinced by this campaign though but presumably there’ll be other executions.

MAA creative scale: 6.

Update

They had to come. Here’s the funniest of a number of spoof ads – from US digital agency Portal A.

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