Booking.com picks 72andSunny Amsterdam as its global creative agency

Booking.com has picked the agency 72andSunny Amsterdam to make its advertising around the world. The industry calls this role agency of record, meaning the main agency a company uses. The choice ends a contest that ran through the summer and was managed by the consultancy Mediasense. The agency is owned by Stagwell. It will lead the creative work and the strategy for the Amsterdam-based travel company. It has been asked to build a new global brand platform, meaning one idea that all the advertising is built on. The first work is due in early 2027.

Two agencies reached the last round: 72andSunny and AMV BBDO, which belongs to Omnicom. Lola USA took part in an earlier round. The final presentations happened around the Cannes Lions festival in June. Zulu Alpha Kilo, an independent agency in Toronto, had held the global creative business since 2023 and made Booking.com’s Super Bowl advert with Melissa McCarthy. It chose not to take part.

Jess Valade, global head of brand at Booking.com, said the agency was chosen for its creative ambition and because it matched the optimism the company wants at the heart of its brand. Hollie Loxley, managing director of 72andSunny Amsterdam, said the win was a chance to work with a client that helps people see more of the world.

Booking.com works in 45 languages and lists 32 million places

Booking.com is one of the biggest advertisers in travel. It works in 45 languages and lists more than 32 million places to stay. Its brand budget has been a prize for the big agency groups for years. Giving the global job to an office in Amsterdam, rather than a flagship in London or New York, is also a signal. The company wants its creative work close to its own head office.

For Stagwell, the job adds a well-known travel brand to the 72andSunny Amsterdam client list, which in recent years has added Disaronno, Midnite and LikeMeat. Mark Penn’s group has been presenting itself as the challenger to the combined Omnicom and IPG, and to Publicis. It needs visible global wins to support that claim.

The new brand platform is pencilled in for early 2027

The agency starts work this month. The new brand platform is pencilled in for the first months of 2027. Booking.com has also used the agency Gravity Road for one-off projects, including campaigns built around The Addams Family and The Muppets. The new lead agency therefore takes on a brand that has relied a lot on tie-ins with entertainment. Whether 72andSunny keeps that direction or changes the brand’s voice will be the first real test of the relationship.