To break through the “wall of silence”, we decided to create work specifically designed for the Facebook silent auto-player. Using Captain Obvious to acknowledge the obvious fact that ads auto-play silently, we made “silent ads” that were able to draw users in. They were invited to engage with the ads and then rewarded when they did.

We created two unique “silent ads” and placed them in a Facebook video ad buy during the start of peak summer travel season (May/June). In the first video “Interpreter”, Captain Obvious employs an American Sign Language interpreter to help convey that users can get 10% off their first hotel stay when they download the Hotels.com mobile app. Is the interpreter unnecessary? Yes. Because while the viewer expects her to translate Captain Obvious’ words verbatim, she is actually telling us that if you write “giftme” in the comments section, you could win a free trip. In “Piano”, we open with the Captain sitting at a grand piano, seemingly playing the hotel lobby Muzack we all know. The subtitles read: “Ads auto-play silently on Facebook…which is good for you, because I don’t know how to play piano.” Unmute the video and you will quickly realize just how true that statement is.

The result is a campaign with more than 5 million views in the first 3 weeks and thousands of shares and comments. Specifically, the Silent Facebook Ads have generated consumer engagement for Hotels.com 5X the Facebook of average for Hotels.com. And, because the ads were first made specifically for the Facebook silent auto-player, the earned media the work has generated has led to millions of more additional impressions and more consumers engaging with the brand.