Black Friday—it’s not just for stores. Expedia Group, the travel company, is hoping to capture some spending demand from the shopping holiday by running its own Black Friday sale and marketing campaign. For the first time, Expedia, along with sister brands Vrbo and Hotels.com, will debut Black Friday advertising that promotes “getaways over gadgets.”

“This last year and a half many have filled their homes with stuff to make up for the moments they’ve been missing,” said Hector Muelas, senior VP, global creative, at Expedia. “With the world slowly opening up again, we wanted to remind people that this Black Friday and Cyber Monday, they could invest in the transformative power of travel experiences.”

A 15-second TV spot cuts to the point. It shows a beach landscape on a TV screen. As the camera zooms in, a voiceover asks, “This Black Friday do you want a TV? Or do you want…the place on the TV?”

The work is part of a promotion for a Black Friday sale that offers 30% discounts on global hotels. The TV spot and a Washington Post homepage takeover will drive consumers to the Expedia brand, while Vrbo and Hotels.com are present in out-of-home and digital ads as well. Although Expedia declined to say how much it is spending on the push, a spokeswoman said the investment is “in line with” other campaigns and noted that the company is experimenting with new ways of using traditional channels.

Expedia worked with Anomaly on the project—the agency had an existing relationship with Hotels.com for the Europe, Middle East and Asia region. Muelas noted that the campaign came together over the past couple months, and there is an opportunity for the relationship to continue, a spokeswoman added.

Yet even as new categories jump on the Black Friday bandwagon, the day’s relevance for retailers—which first started the shopping tradition—has long been waning. Instead, many brands have begun offering “Black Friday” promotions and deals weeks ahead of time, rather than focusing their efforts on a single day of doorbusters. COVID-19 accelerated the trend as retailers such as Gap and Lowe’s sought to avoid crowds and long lines of closely gathered people in an age of social distancing. Now, consumers are conditioned to expect their deals long ahead of Thanksgiving. Even Expedia’s new campaign, while called “Black Friday,” will still begin running Tuesday, more than a week before Thanksgiving.

But consumers appear to be ready to travel. Many travel brands have reported an uptick in both leisure and business traffic in recent months. Expedia is no exception, according to Muelas.

“With international borders reopening and what’s predicted to be a huge holiday travel season, our brands are well positioned,” he said, noting a spike in holiday demand this year. “We’ve seen a surge in interest for flights, packages, hotels and vacation homes.”

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