Elements Hotel & Spa History Timeline

• Aug 2024 - hotel marketing team spots a TikTok trend featuring low-key, “reklama dla facetów” (ads for guys) style videos - dry, awkward, one-word-stripped-down product tours

• Within days - Elements Hotel’s own marketing team writes, films, and uploads their take, starring their own employee, Barbara Przybycień

• First 24 hours - video hits 1.5M views, 200K reactions, 4.5K comments. Comment sections explode

• First week - total reach climbs to 3M. Major Polish meme pages, mainstream news, and LinkedIn all pile on. The format is copied by other brands, politicians, NGOs, and even the police

• Within a month: 8M total views, 850K likes, 80K shares, and over 30K new followers across platforms. 50+ media mentions, and a TV feature on Polsat (major Polish TV station)

• Direct results - spikes in direct bookings and website visits (numbers confidential, but hotel confirms significant lift)

Spotting the trend

The Elements Hotel & Spa had all the ingredients for a classic “fancy hotel” Instagram feed, but instead of glossy, influencer-ready shots, they went the exact opposite direction.

The team spotted a meme-y trend, deadpan, purposely awkward walk-throughs using minimalist, often cringey narration named "reklama dla facetów" (ads for men), known also from famous Olso ad "Is it even a city?". They noticed the best-performing versions were “so bad, they’re good”, breaking away from the overload of polished, hard-sell, inauthentic hotel ads.

The execution

They didn’t overthink it. Barbara, a real hotel employee, just grabbed a phone and walked around the hotel, deadpan as can be. No script, no fancy edits, no reshoots.

• She points to the pool “Here you swim.”
• At the bar “Here, drinks.”
• She even throws in a cameo from one of the most famous Polish boxers, Tomasz Adamek, who happened to be there.

It’s dry, awkward, and absolutely not what you’d expect from a 5-star hotel ad. Zero glitz, just straight-up low-budget honesty. They posted it everywhere - TikTok, Insta, Facebook, YouTube Shorts - using trending music and hashtags. That’s it.

Why it went viral (the play-by-play)

They nailed the timing, dropping their version right when the trend was taking off, before big brands could jump in.

The awkward delivery felt real, not forced, and that hit home for people tired of polished ads. The cringe wasn’t accidental, it was the whole point, and it made the video impossible to ignore (and easy to laugh at and share).

It was short, meme-ready, and super taggable, so people started spreading it everywhere. Then the pros and meme pages picked it up, the copycats rolled in, and suddenly everyone from the police to politicians was doing their own version - that's the RT (real-time) marketing at its finest.

Authenticity Bias

People trust what feels real. When viewers saw a regular hotel employee, awkward, unscripted, just being herself, it broke through the usual “ad armor.” The lack of polish made the brand feel honest and instantly relatable.

(cringe) Humor Effect (Benign Violation Theory)

This video was so awkward it became funny. That sweet spot, where something is weird, but harmless, makes people laugh instead of turning away. That “so bad it’s good” feeling made viewers stick around, tag friends, and share the clip just to pass on the laugh.

Mere Exposure Effect

The video used the same dry, minimalist narration throughout the whole video. By repeating the simple formula, it lodged itself in viewers’ brains. The more people saw or heard it, the more they remembered the hotel.

Ease/low effort consumption

No one had to work hard to get the joke or the message. The content was short, direct, and easy to watch, making it perfect for mindless scrolling and easy shares.

Bandwagon Effect/ Social Proof

Because this style of video was already part of a growing TikTok trend, viewers felt they were joining in on something big. As more brands and users copied the format, the pressure to jump aboard got even stronger. No one wanted to miss out on the viral moment.

Authority Bias

Featuring Tomasz Adamek, a well-known boxer, gave the video an extra credibility boost. When viewers recognized a famous face, even in a quick cameo, it signaled that the hotel was legit and worth paying attention to. Authority figures, even used casually, make people more likely to trust and remember the message.

DIY Effect (I could do this too)

The lo-fi, phone-cam style made it feel like anyone could make their own. That inspired more people (and brands) to copy it, sparking a viral copycat loop and multiplying the campaign’s reach.