Marriott pulls YouTube commercial after complaints from travel agents

Marriott International's new "Book Direct" digital campaign is freakin' hilarious, and it's definitely making travelers more aware of the perks they can get when by reserving with hotels instead of third parties. But the hotel company feels like it accidentally crossed a line with its latest YouTube commercial, which compared travel agents to a shady gas station attendant.

The video – which has been set to private – showed a pair of tourists getting bad directions from that attendant, which more or less forced them to take the scenic route. After receiving a formal complaint from the American Society of Travel Agents, Marriott removed it. The hotel's global director of travel industry sales Carmen Perez told Skift:

"We took it down because we didn’t realize it was offensive to travel agents [...] The thing with the gas station attendant wasn’t meant to disparage agents; the ad campaign was just meant to be playful."

The ad had a reasonably short lifespan online; it went live at the beginning of August, along with two other "Book Direct" commercials. The remaining ads star YouTube personality Grace Helbig, who advises travelers that the most direct route (see what they did there?) is always best.

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