As if Americans needed another disease to cure: "vacationitis" is the latest ailment to affect the United States.
Brewed up by the marketing minds at Hilton Hotels & Resorts, "vacationitis" is defined as the complete and utter lack of vacation-induced euphoria. Or something like that.
Beyond the obvious cuteness, the underlying truth is not so adorable: the average American left two vacation days unused in 2012, according to a recent Expedia study entitled "Vacation Deprivation."
Of course, both Expedia and Hilton have a vested interest in increasing usage of vacation days. Nonetheless, it does point to an underlying discrepancy between America's ability to relax and the rest of the world.
Check out this graphic from the above study laying out the total number of vacation days around the world:
It's not only the US that suffers from lost vacation days: the Netherlands, Mexico, Italy, India and Japan are also suffering from cases of vacationitis.
However, America also has the second lowest number of vacation days earned, so the percentage of days left unused is much higher than anywhere else in the world.
Blame it on a culture of hard-work or not, Hilton is doing its corporate duty raise awareness of the self-defined "vacationitis."
They've created the Hilton Urgent Vacation Care Center, dedicated to helping weary workers identify their symptoms and find cures.
Vacationitis is creating high levels of stress and claiming countless hours of unused vacation time as it spreads among workers incapable of taking long- or short-term breaks, Hilton Hotels & Resorts reports today.The flagship brand of Hilton Worldwide is activating its Hilton Urgent Vacation Care Center, an interactive website featuring personal diagnoses of vacation needs and customized prescriptions urging people to take breaks, weekend getaways and longer vacations.Workers are advised to seek aid immediately if they show signs of 14 distinct symptoms of Vacationitis, including “Straight to Voicemailaria,” a chronic avoidance of client calls, or “Replyallgia,” the result of a flood of “reply all” emails
The promotion even comes with its own website, shareable imagery, and special rates on hotels.
To find out your own personal prescription, enter in your information, answer some questions, and voila, get your Rx immediately, courtesy of Hilton's nearby properties:
Should you decide to listen to the vacation doctors sage advice, Hilton is offering special deals on weekend getaways.
The "Any Weekend, Anywhere" sale is good for weekend getaways throughout 2013, and Hilton is also giving away 15 vacations as part of their Vacationitis awareness campaign.
To support the promo campaign, the iconic/ironic images were appropriately created for Hilton by Onion Labs, the creative services division of news satire organization The Onion. The humor is much appreciated, bringing levity to the center of the campaign - and also providing ample opportunities for emotional resonance that increases potential viral reach via social media sharing.
Some favorites are "Commuteritis: Suffering from an excessive number of hours spent daily commuting to work or between meetings" and "Interpersonal Drone Disorder: Making it through the work day in a zombie-like manner."
Take note of the humor and emotional resonance with a targeted demographic - by creating these shareable images, Hilton has set itself up for success.
Props to Hilton for creating a cohesive campaign by partnering with a group already known for their humor, and for leveraging levity into their overall marketing objective of booking more rooms. The weekend getaway is an easier sell than a week-long vacation, and given that the average American left 2 vacation days unused last year, there's a perfect window of opportunity for hotels to promote extended weekend escapes.