• by Fern Siegel , August 30, 2024

Renting a vacation home can be heaven — or hell. Just ask Nick Saban, the former Alabama Crimson Tide head coach.

He is the star of a new Vrbo ad, illustrating what vacationers don't want in a rental home.

Now an ESPN college-football analyst, Saban brings his tough, no-nonsense approach to Vrbo's latest 60-second spot. The former coach has a playbook of house rules: no fun, no streaming, no games.

The spot vividly demonstrates why vacation rentals are better without a host.

The creative work, produced by Anomaly, kicks off August 31, during the first major college football weekend. Running throughout the season, the campaign includes OOH, media integration and stadium signage. It will also be featured at the Vrbo Fiesta Bowl.

Additional ad elements appear in Alabama, Ohio State and Texas via Vrbo’s partnership with Learfield.

Kevin Tenglin, Expedia Group’s vice president of global marketing, told Agency Daily: “The idea of Nick Saban as an overbearing host just felt like a home run (or touchdown). His tenaciousness and no-nonsense, by-the-book personality was the perfect hilarious foil to show the downside of a vacation rental that comes with a host. The beauty of it was, he didn’t even need to act, he’s just being himself.”

Last year, parent company Expedia Group streamline operations by turning the tech stacks of Expedia, Hotels.com and Vrbo into one platform. Travelers can use the OneKeyCash program for their next eligible Vrbo, Expedia and Hotels.com booking.

Vrbo made an estimated $3.3 billion in 2023, one-quarter of Expedia’s total revenue. The company had 17.5 million unique visitors last year and was downloaded 15 million times, according to the Business of Apps. Vrbo lists more than 2 million properties as of 2023, reports NerdWallet.

Anomaly's client work includes Mini, Dick's Sporting Goods, Johnnie Walker and Converse.