Booking.com hands global creative account to 72andSunny Amsterdam

Booking.com has appointed 72andSunny Amsterdam as its global creative agency of record, ending a review that ran through the summer and was managed by the consultancy Mediasense. The Stagwell-owned shop will lead creative and strategy for the Amsterdam-based travel company and has been asked to build a new global brand platform, with the first work scheduled to appear in early 2027.

The decision closes a contest that came down to two finalists: 72andSunny and Omnicom’s AMV BBDO. Lola USA had been involved in an earlier round, and the final presentations took place around the Cannes Lions festival in June. The Toronto independent Zulu Alpha Kilo, which had held the global creative business since 2023 and produced Booking.com’s Super Bowl work with Melissa McCarthy, declined to take part in the process.

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

Why it matters

Booking.com is one of the largest advertisers in travel, operating in 45 languages with more than 32 million accommodation listings, and its brand spend has been a prize for global networks for years. Handing the global remit to an Amsterdam-based office rather than a London or New York flagship is also a signal about where the client wants its creative center of gravity: close to its own headquarters.

For Stagwell, the assignment adds a marquee travel brand to a 72andSunny Amsterdam roster that in recent years has picked up Disaronno, Midnite and LikeMeat. It comes at a time when Mark Penn’s group has been pitching itself as the challenger to the Omnicom-IPG combination and to Publicis, and needs visible global wins to back that claim.

What’s next

The agency starts work this month, with the platform launch pencilled in for the first months of 2027. Booking.com has also been using Gravity Road on project work, including campaigns built around The Addams Family and The Muppets, so the new agency of record will inherit a brand that has leaned heavily on entertainment tie-ins. Whether 72andSunny keeps that direction or resets the brand’s voice will be the first real test of the relationship.