The Holiday Inn Express® Brand Brings Back Iconic Stay Smart® Campaign With New Advertising Launch

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Apr 08, 2013, 09:00 ET

ATLANTA, April 8, 2013 /PRNewswire/ --– IHG^® (InterContinental Hotels Group) [LON:IHG, NYSE:IHG (ADRs)], one of the world's leading global hotel companies, today announced the launch of the Holiday Inn Express brand's new, multi-million dollar, Stay Smart^® advertising campaign, featuring two brand-new television commercials that bring back renowned pop-culture tagline, "But I Did Stay at a Holiday Inn Express^® Hotel Last Night".

"Holiday Inn Express is a brand that guests know and love, and is instantly recognized by millions of people around the world. The new Stay Smart television commercials reaffirm that the Holiday Inn Express brand is the smart choice for savvy, value-conscious travelers," said Heather Balsley, senior vice president, Americas Holiday Inn® Brand Family. "The Stay Smart campaign was not only incredibly successful, but also remains beloved by consumers even today, which is why we are bringing it back. The new campaign gives us an opportunity to showcase the Holiday Inn Express brand to a new audience in entirely new ways."

Originally launched in 1998, the Holiday Inn Express Stay Smart television campaign was on-air for eleven years, and became one of the longest-running hotel advertising campaigns in television history, exceeding industry norms. Picking up where the brand left off, the new 2013 Stay Smart campaign is best described as a fun and humorous exaggeration of how smart it feels to stay in a Holiday Inn Express hotel. The new Stay Smart commercials titled "Acupuncture" and "Equation", debut today in the U.S., airing across ten major networks including ESPN, TBS, Bravo and FX. In addition, consumers will be able to see the commercials in local markets during syndication of hit programs such as Big Bang Theory and How I Met Your Mother. The TV activity will be complemented by a mix of digital, tablet, mobile and gaming video placements targeting outlets such as YouTube, Hulu and CBS Interactive. The campaign also includes a mix of online, social media and billboard communications, with all media planning and buying for the Stay Smart campaign handled by Mindshare.

The TV creative was filmed in Toronto and directed by The Pelorian Brothers (also behind: Old Spice, Tide to-go and Dominos) and features skilled professions being performed by people who were not trained for those jobs, but did stay at a Holiday Inn Express^® hotel the night before. "Acupuncture" takes place in a spa where a woman is being treated by an "acupuncturist" who reveals he is actually a Panini delivery man, and "Equation" features a man resembling a professor who solves a difficult math equation in front of a classroom of university students, and admits he was just visiting his daughter who attends the school. The new 2013 Stay Smart^® television ads were created by Ogilvy & Mather, the creative agency for the Holiday Inn Express brand.

To view the new Stay Smart commercials "Acupuncture" and "Equation", visit www.youtube.com/HolidayInnExpress. For more information on the Holiday Inn Express Stay Smart campaign, visit www.HolidayInnExpress.com.

About The Holiday Inn Express^® Brand
Holiday Inn Express^® hotels are modern hotels for value-oriented travelers. Fresh, clean and uncomplicated, Holiday Inn Express^® hotels offer competitive rates for both business and leisure travelers. Guests at Holiday Inn Express^® hotels enjoy a free hot Express Start^® Breakfast Bar, free high-speed Internet access and free local phone calls (U.S. and Canada only). There are currently more than 2,100 Holiday Inn Express^® hotel locations around the globe. For more information about Holiday Inn Express^® hotels or to book reservations, call 1-800-HOLIDAY or visit www.holidayinnexpress.com. For our latest news visit, www.facebook.com/HolidayInnExpress and https://twitter.com/HIExpress.

Notes to Editors:
IHG (InterContinental Hotels Group) [LON:IHG, NYSE:IHG (ADRs)] is a global organisation with nine hotel brands including InterContinental® Hotels & Resorts, Hotel Indigo®, Crowne Plaza® Hotels & Resorts, Holiday Inn® Hotels and Resorts, Holiday Inn Express®, Staybridge Suites®, Candlewood Suites®, EVEN™ Hotels and HUALUXE™ Hotels & Resorts. IHG also manages Priority Club® Rewards, the world's first and largest hotel loyalty program with over 71 million members worldwide.

IHG franchises, leases, manages or owns over 4,600 hotels and more than 675,000 guest rooms in nearly 100 countries and territories. With more than 1,000 hotels in its development pipeline, IHG expects to recruit around 90,000 people into additional roles across its estate over the next few years.

InterContinental Hotels Group PLC is the Group's holding company and is incorporated in Great Britain and registered in England and Wales.

Visit www.ihg.com for hotel information and reservations and www.priorityclub.com for more on Priority Club Rewards. For our latest news, visit:

www.ihg.com/media, www.twitter.com/ihg, www.facebook.com/ihg or www.youtube.com/ihgplc.

SOURCE InterContinental Hotels Group