Real estate listing site Zillow.com has dipped its toe into traditional advertising with a television ad from Deutsch LA.
The ad depicts a thirtysomething mom opening a Zillow listing on a tablet while she snuggles on a living room couch with her sleeping son. As she views photos of a house and the surrounding neighborhood, she envisions her son and husband in the driveway of the home.
Over a bed of acoustic guitar—the soundtrack is "First Day of My Life" by Bright Eyes—a male voice says, “You’re not just looking for a house. You’re looking for a place for your life to happen.” The tagline is, “Find your way home.”
The 30-second ad represents the agency’s first work for Zillow, whose past marketing consisted of public relations and online tactics such as buying key search terms. Zillow hired Deutsch in June after meeting with several other, undisclosed shops.
“We’ve built a strong brand and large traffic base over our short life” of seven years and “now we’re ready to learn how offline advertising can impact our growth,” said Amy Bohutinsky, Zillow’s chief marketing officer.
Zillow did not disclose its budget for the new campaign. The ad, which broke Monday, is running on national cable networks in three markets.
The new shop will handle creative responsibilities and media planning; Two Nil handles media buying.
Past relationships played a role in Deutsch connecting with Zillow. Richard Barton, Zillow’s executive chairman and co-founder, is the former CEO of Expedia.com, a Deutsch LA account from 1999 until 2006.
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