Carnival Cruise Lines will launch a new multi-million-dollar branding campaign that injects a fresh new look and feel into the company’s advertising, marketing and collateral materials. The centerpiece of the wide-ranging initiative is a series of new 30-second television spots which debuted Monday, Jan. 7.

Backed by the Queen classic “You’re My Best Friend,” the spots feature images of guests of all ages enjoying a Carnival cruise, enhanced by sophisticated computer animation and editing techniques that seamlessly blend one scene into another. The end result is a series of highly visual commercials that convey Carnival’s memorable vacation experience by transporting viewers into the relaxed and carefree environment of a “Fun Ship” vacation.

Pegged to the song’s key lyrical phrase “Oooh, you make me live,” three different commercials have been created, each targeting a core market for Carnival. “No Age Limit on Fun” showcases multi-generational travel; “A Big New World” is aimed at families; and “A World of Delightful Surprises” focuses on the romance aspect of cruising.

Although the commercials are aimed at specific audiences, all three spots convey Carnival’s unique ambiance and diversity of choices, both on-board and ashore.

“Carnival has earned its title of world’s most popular cruise line by providing our guests with fun, memorable vacations that are a great value. This new TV ad campaign truly captures the essence of our brand in an entertaining and creative way,” said Ruben Rodriguez, Carnival’s executive vice president of marketing and guest experience. “Exciting new ships and innovations such as the ‘Evolutions of Fun’ ship refurbishment program have added an entirely new dimension to the Carnival vacation experience and this branding effort reflects the continued evolution of the ‘Fun Ship’ product,” he added.

The 30-second TV commercials are just one component of a multi-million-dollar branding effort that is built around the charge to “Let the Fun Begin,” designed to reinforce the company’s core brand value of providing guests with fun, memorable vacations. The phrase has been incorporated into a new consumer and trade print advertising campaign, as well as a variety of marketing and collateral materials.

The new print campaign encompasses full-page images gleaned from the various TV spots, with shots of couples and families relaxing in scenic locales and enjoying various on-board activities typically associated with “Fun Ship” cruising.

Comprehensive travel agent kits, which combine various marketing materials into one convenient package, with postcards, letterhead, stickers, coasters and items for agents to display in their offices such as welcome and open/close signs, are also part of the new campaign. The new kits will be mailed to travel agents in early 2008.

A central design component of the marketing materials – from the line’s new fleet brochure to web banners and more – is a playful new “swirl” motif, a wave-like design that serves to frame photos and other images in the pieces.

The new TV spots will air on all major broadcast networks, as well as select cable channels and the new print ads will be featured in a variety of newspapers, as well as consumer magazines.