Everyone has a vision of their dream home. It could be a high-rise condo overlooking the Golden Gate Bridge, a chic three-story brownstone in Brooklyn, a quaint shotgun house in New Orleans, an art deco masterpiece in Miami or a ranch deep in the heart of Texas.
No matter what your dream home is, just remember that there’s someone else eyeing the exact same home, vying for the chance to get the keys before you do. This heartbreaking experience is at the center of realtor.com’s newest campaign “Own Home,” featuring the hilarious Elizabeth Banks.
The six-spot campaign features legions of “not-yous” — people who like what you like and want what you want — trying to take your dream home. And according to realtor.com, the only way to beat out the “not-yous” is by using their site, which is updated every 15 minutes, for a competitive advantage.
You vs. “not-yous”
Realtor.com Head of Brand and Chief Creative Andrew Strickman says the idea for the campaign was inspired by the reality that many buyers and would-be buyers are facing in an inventory-strapped market where there are more buyers than homes that are actually available.
“We wanted to make sure the campaign we created was bigger and better and more than anything, really communicated the benefit of using realtor.com,” Strickman says.
“[Our] listings are nearly updated in real time every 15 minutes or less; we give a big advantage to homebuyers and home searchers who are in a seller’s market where there are more people looking for homes than there is inventory to satisfy them.
“People really have a sense of urgency in their home search and they realize that although they have this perfect idea in their mind of what a dream home represents to them, it’s a little myopic to think they’re the only ones with that idea of a dream home.”
The first spot, “Realtor.com and Elizabeth Banks present: The not-yous” began airing today on CBS, HGTV and other cable channels such as Bravo, DIY, TBS, TNT and USA. The other five spots will roll out over the upcoming months in conjunction with an interactive digital video series and a social media campaign on Facebook and Instagram.
In the digital video series, Banks will offer comfort to buyers who were, unfortunately, beat by the “not-yous.”
Of course, Banks won’t be going the traditional route of offering a box of Kleenex — some of her techniques will include screaming into a pillow, cuddling with cute animals and even belting out a song.
And for those victorious buyers, realtor.com will be rolling out a series of “Welcome to the Neighborhood” gifs on the “Own Home” landing page this summer.