Trivago has been found guilty of misleading and deceptive conduct by Australian Federal Court. Video / Trivago
She's developed a cult following thanks to the Trivago ads but Gabrielle Miller may no longer be gracing our screens as the Expedia-owned travel aggregator switches its marketing direction.
Trivago said it's because consumers are increasingly choosing experiences and personalised searches over discount hotel beds, The Australian reported.
Miller, who was completely oblivious to her huge fan following when she spoke to news.com.au back in June last year, had been used in the Trivago ads in Australia, New Zealand, British, Irish, American and South African advertising campaigns.
I was in Greece recently. They have a Trivago girl also. A distant second. Agree - she is more recognisable and liked than any soap star
But the emphasis is now on allowing travellers to choose from a range of filters — whether they want a party-style hotel, pet-friendly accommodation, free breakfasts or even a sailing adventure on a smart yacht.
According to The Australian, from Sunday the travel company will steer consumers to its new range of booking options offered on the two million hotels across 400 booking sites that it represents.
Trivago's Dusseldorf-based regional manager Diana Vidovic told the publisher consumers were now more interested in factors such as getting a personalised experience — an amazing pool and great restaurants.
The TV campaign will be launched in Australia on Sunday ahead of a global release if it resonates well with consumers.
New Zealand viewers will continue to see the adverts featuring Miller, alongside the new version, for the time being, Trivago said.
If you don't know much about Miller aka the "Trivago girl", we can tell you all that she auditioned for the company on a nude beach.
The Trivago ads have gained a cult following.
Early last year after we published our story on the woman from the Ford commercials who also, unbeknown to her, had developed quite a cult following, we received hundreds of requests from readers to track down the woman from the Trivago commercials.
She gave us a quick rundown of her nomadic life and that Trivago audition.
"I was touring in Greece when I received the invite for the audition," she told news.com.au last year.
"We were camping on a nudist beach on the island of Crete. The request was to dress as a Hollywood star, casual but fashionable, and to imagine that I was in an animated studio preferably against a white background.
"Of course I had none of the above therefore I had to be resourceful, so I wedged the camera between two rocks, wiped the zinc off my face and filmed a rough version of the script while trying to avoid too many bare bottoms in the background!"
Back then she had filmed close to 20 Trivago commercials which were shot in Berlin and Melbourne.
She also told news.com.au that she had never been recognised from the commercials.
"I'm good at disguises," Miller said at the time, and was totally oblivious that she had such a massive following.
"What? No, I wasn't aware. Sounds very unlikely. Tell me more."
