LEADING HOTELS OF THE WORLD

Storied Travels Await

Problem: The luxury travel space is saturated, and it all looks the same. Aspirational photography. Soft light. Empty infinity pools. Leading Hotels of the World is a collection of the finest independent hotels on the planet, and they were disappearing into the noise.

Solution:Storied Travels Await. A campaign built on a simple truth: these hotels don't just offer accommodation, they offer experiences the body remembers long after checkout. We turned to fine art as the creative language, not as decoration, but as the only vocabulary capable of expressing what staying in these places actually feels like.

How: Won through a competitive pitch process. From there, a small team traveled across America and Europe, visiting properties, meeting the people behind them, and finding what made each one irreplaceable. The work that came out of it spanned campaign creative, brand storytelling, video, and digital. The campaign culminated in a full creative takeover of the International Luxury Travel Market at Cannes, spanning hundreds of individual pieces of creative across the entire venue.

CLIENT: Leading Hotels Of The World

AGENCY: Zimmerman/Bright Red

CCO: Liz Paradise

CREATIVE DIRECTION: Tony Frusciante, Liz Paradise, & Jason Piroth

ART DIRECTION: Tony Frusciante

GRAPHIC DESIGN: Tony Frusciante

COPY: Jason Piroth

PHOTOGRAPHY: Satoshi Makino

A promotional page for a luxury hotel, featuring a scenic view of a woman relaxing by an infinity pool overlooking a lush green landscape and mountains under a cloudy sky. The page includes text about a retreat in harmony with nature, congratulating Nishara Tented Camp in Costa Rica for winning an award, and invites viewers to visit the hotel's website, with logos of American Express and the hotel's branding.
People relaxing and socializing in a lush garden with tall palm trees, a hammock, and mountains in the background.
A bathroom with wallpaper, a vintage bathtub with clawfoot design, a small dog sitting inside the bathtub, chandelier lighting, window with blinds, bookshelf with books and decorative items, and a patterned rug.
Display of travel destination images and hotel names on hanging posters inside a glass dome structure.
A doorman in a black uniform with gold accents and a black top hat, standing outside The Ritz London in London, UK, next to a vintage taxi with an open door.
Silhouette of a Buddha statue with a glowing background, featuring a sunset or sunrise over the ocean in Miami Beach, United States.
A person practicing yoga outdoors by the water, seen through a wooden slatted screen. The background shows the sea and sky, with a lush green hedge. At the bottom, there is a logo and text reading "The Chedi Muscat, Oman."
Interior of a luxurious living room with a black grand piano, modern chandelier, beige sofa, and large windows showing a scenic mountain view, in Obburegern, Switzerland.
Close-up of a gourmet dish featuring a slice of cooked salmon topped with herbs and garnished with small edible flowers and greens, presented on a dark plate.
A colorful architectural view of the Royal Mansour Marrakech hotel in Marrakech, Morocco, with intricate Moroccan tilework, arches, and a person in traditional Moroccan attire walking through an entrance, casting shadows on the wall.
Close-up of a person holding a butterfly on their finger, with a blurred background and a logo with text reading "The Datai Langkawi, Langkawi, Malaysia."
A top-down view of a spiral staircase with concrete steps, black wrought iron railings, and wooden handrails leads downward, with a person ascending at the top.
Black charcoal briquettes with a sprig of white flowers and a slice of lemon, a wooden cutting board holding crumpled white cloth, and a green cucumber with a red container, with text reading 'The Okura Tokyo, Tokyo, Japan'.
Interior view of a bathroom with a large window overlooking a rocky island and blue sea, featuring a white bathtub, blue tiles, and tropical decor.
A scenic view of a blue infinity pool overlooking the ocean with a hilly coastline under a blue sky with wispy clouds. The logo and text below indicate it's a promotional material for La Reserve Ramatuelle Hotel-Spa & Villas in Ramatuelle, France.
A pink cocktail with a cherry in a martini glass on a bar counter with a blurred background, Ritz Paris logo and text indicating it is from Paris, France.
A mountain landscape featuring snow-capped peaks and a skier in a teal jacket, with a blue sky and clouds in the background.
A triptych of a modern open-air building with a wooden roof, surrounded by lush green plants and trees, with a reflective pool in the foreground. The background features a cloudy sky and mountains. The text at the bottom indicates locations Soori Bali and Bali - Kerambitan, Indonesia.
Photograph of a digital display showing the skyline of Shanghai with modern skyscrapers including the Shanghai Tower, Shanghai World Financial Center, and the Oriental Pearl Tower, at an exhibition or event.
A booth for The Leading Hotels of the World displays an interior bar area with barstools and bottles on shelves, alongside a scenic outdoor lounge area with a pool, wooden deck, loungers, and mountainous landscape in the background. A woman in a colorful shirt stands in front, holding her phone.
People walking through the entrance of a convention center or hotel with a large advertisement above, showing a historic building and the text 'The Leading Hotels of the World, Booth Y100A, Hôtel de Paris Monte-Carlo, Storied Travels Await.' The entrance has red flooring, glass doors, and people inside fitting for an event or conference.
A display booth featuring an advertisement for the hotels of the world. The ad showcases a luxurious hotel interior with red and gold furniture and decor. The text mentions Hotel Sacher Wien in Vienna, Austria, and Katrines Hotel in Santorini, Greece, along with images of scenic landscapes and a beach scene.
People walking up an escalator in a busy indoor setting, possibly an airport or shopping mall, with a promotional stand in the background displaying a hotel brand logo and images of a historic cityscape with a rainbow.
Large billboard displaying an advertisement for The Leading Hotels of the World, featuring images of a grand hotel with multiple stories, balconies, and a conservatory, alongside promotional text and a booth number.
A webpage of The Leading Hotels of the World features a cozy interior with exposed brick walls, standing lamps with diffused light, a window, and a table where a man and woman are enjoying a meal and conversation, with a large shadow of a performer with a microphone in the background.
Silhouettes of a man and a woman with a wine glass, enjoying sunset on a terrace with arches.
A couple in formal attire having dinner at a restaurant. They are sitting across each other at a table with food and drinks, smiling and toasting.
Night view of a historic church with twin towers, illuminated buildings, a staircase, and people sitting on steps in a city square.
Two people chatting and holding drinks on a terrace overlooking the ocean during sunset, with old street lamps and patterned sun loungers in the foreground.
A table set with chocolates, a candle, a pink paper flower, a glass of champagne, and a candle holder, on a balcony overlooking the Washington Monument against a colorful sunset sky.
A man standing on a white balcony overlooking a steep hillside town with white buildings and blue-domed churches, along a coastal area with boats in the water and cliffs in the distance, typical of Santorini, Greece.
A scenic landscape view of rolling hills and farmland under a partly cloudy sky, with a person relaxing by an infinity pool in the foreground.
A luxurious, ornately decorated room with a coffered ceiling featuring gold accents and a large chandelier. Tall windows with heavy floral drapes allow natural light. Elegant furniture includes floral-patterned chairs and sofas, with several people seated and standing, seemingly engaged in an event or viewing something outside.
A city skyscraper with neon lights and the American flag on top, being illuminated with red and blue lights at dusk.
A cozy corner of a room with large windows showing trees outside. There's a wooden table, a vintage armchair, and part of a sofa with a decorative pillow. Sunlight casts shadows through the windows.