# Why is the Trivago guy so creepy? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [March 31, 2016, 8:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-the-trivago-guy-so-creepy/750780 "2016-03-31T20:53:47Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Jennshark](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/8e8cbc/32.png) [@Jennshark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jennshark)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2016, 8:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-the-trivago-guy-so-creepy/750780/1 "2016-03-31T20:53:47Z")
I think he’s creepy, the wife thinks he’s creepy, everyone I discuss TV things with holds the same opinion . . . Just what is it about him? In the first set of commercials I thought it was because he was unshaven and dressed sloppy. But even shaved and dressed better in the latest commercials he still has some icky vibe I can’t quite put my finger on. Your deep thoughts on this? ---
**Author:** ![Sampiro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/2acd7d/32.png) [@Sampiro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sampiro)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2016, 8:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-the-trivago-guy-so-creepy/750780/2 "2016-03-31T20:57:32Z")
I had to look him up. I was thinking of the [guy who looks like George V/Nicholas II](http://image.cdn.ispot.tv/ad/7aBd/hotels-com-the-one-with-the-guy-locked-out-in-his-underwear-large-3.jpg) but he’s hotels dot com. Assuming [this is him](http://a.abcnews.go.com/images/Entertainment/151021_dmg_trivagoguy_16x9_992.jpg), he is very “To Catch a Predator”, isn’t he? ---
**Author:** ![Sattua](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sattua/32/11906_2.png) [@Sattua](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sattua)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2016, 9:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-the-trivago-guy-so-creepy/750780/3 "2016-03-31T21:31:54Z")
He IS creepy, isn’t he?!?! My husband and I thought so when we saw his very first commercial. I don’t know why. He just doesn’t exude charm. ---
**Author:** ![Ambivalid](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/a5b964/32.png) [@Ambivalid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ambivalid)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2016, 9:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-the-trivago-guy-so-creepy/750780/4 "2016-03-31T21:34:51Z")
He seems like _he_ thinks he’s one-sexy-motherfucker. To me that’s where his creepiness comes from. ---
**Author:** ![Buck\_Godot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/buck_godot/32/6573_2.png) [@Buck\_Godot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Buck_Godot)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2016, 9:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-the-trivago-guy-so-creepy/750780/5 "2016-03-31T21:51:36Z")
I think there is something about the natural position his mouth between speaking his lines. He’s sort of got a sort of forced a half smile with just the corners of his mouth, that makes it look like he’s trying to hide something. ---
**Author:** ![Biggirl](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/biggirl/32/3294_2.png) [@Biggirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biggirl)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2016, 9:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-the-trivago-guy-so-creepy/750780/6 "2016-03-31T21:57:20Z")
Originally he was unshaven in a rumpled overcoat and I thought that had a lot to do with his creep factor. But they’ve cleaned him up recently. Didn’t work. Still creepy. ---
**Author:** ![dracoi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/90db22/32.png) [@dracoi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dracoi)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2016, 10:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-the-trivago-guy-so-creepy/750780/7 "2016-03-31T22:33:34Z")
I’ve just always assumed it’s because Trivago comes across as fake all the way across. They don’t do anything but consolidate data available elsewhere. They have a name that means nothing, but must have scored well in focus groups. They have a spokesman with no name and no memorable attributes, also straight from focus groups who want to communicate something like “reliable and trustworthy, but not old fashioned.” So he does come across as creepy, but the whole thing is creepy. It’s like an [uncanny valley](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Uncanny_valley) of commercialism and marketing. ---
**Author:** ![Rick\_Kitchen](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rick_kitchen/32/522_2.png) [@Rick\_Kitchen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rick_Kitchen)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2016, 10:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-the-trivago-guy-so-creepy/750780/8 "2016-03-31T22:36:58Z")
The guy’s name is Tim Williams. He’s an American, but he’s popular in Germany because he apparently speaks flawless German. > **[Tim Williams (actor)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tim_Williams_(actor))** > > Timothy Leigh Williams (born August 16, 1966) is an American actor who is best known for his appearances in advertisements for the hotel website Trivago and his roles on German television and in German film, including the German series Gute Zeiten, schlechte Zeiten in the 2010s. He also played in the movies Valkyrie (2008), Ninja Assassin (2009) and Labyrinth of Lies (2014) and performed a music album, Magnolia City, around 2018. > Williams went to Robert E. Lee High School in Houston, Texas, and... > **[Tim Williams - IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0931807/)** > > Tim Williams. Actor: Ninja Assassin. Actor Tim Williams who has had a quiet career, burst onto the scene in 2016, in his breakout role A commercial! Yes he is the spokesman for Trivago.com. Helen Hunt also had a career that was quiet, until a... ---
**Author:** ![Guest-starring\_Id](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guest-starring_id/32/21736_2.png) [@Guest-starring\_Id](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guest-starring_Id)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2016, 10:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-the-trivago-guy-so-creepy/750780/9 "2016-03-31T22:37:17Z")
> [@Ambivalid](#): > > He seems like _he_ thinks he’s one-sexy-motherfucker. To me that’s where his creepiness comes from. That, and his facile intonations, going on for a full minute - his voice is louder than a lot of commercials I hear. Disingenuous attempts at trying to be Mr. Charming-Everyday Guy. And oh-so-slightly slurring over the “t” in “hotel”, like he’s trying to make it sound like something new. ---
**Author:** ![seal\_cleaner](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e274bd/32.png) [@seal\_cleaner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/seal_cleaner)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2016, 10:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-the-trivago-guy-so-creepy/750780/10 "2016-03-31T22:45:38Z")
He says “trivago” with some hint of an accent. Irritating. ---
**Author:** ![panache45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/panache45/32/64_2.png) [@panache45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panache45)\ **Post date:** [April 1, 2016, 12:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-the-trivago-guy-so-creepy/750780/11 "2016-04-01T00:29:46Z")
He’s not as creepy as that bearded old guy in the catheter commercial. ---
**Author:** ![GoodOmens](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/d26b3c/32.png) [@GoodOmens](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GoodOmens)\ **Post date:** [April 1, 2016, 12:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-the-trivago-guy-so-creepy/750780/12 "2016-04-01T00:59:34Z")
I sort of get the “G-Man from Half-Life” feeling from him, like he learned to act like a human by watching people interact with each other but didn’t pay enough attention. ---
**Author:** ![kayT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayt/32/3633_2.png) [@kayT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayT)\ **Post date:** [April 1, 2016, 1:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-the-trivago-guy-so-creepy/750780/13 "2016-04-01T01:33:01Z")
Those pictures of him on the IMDB linked above are even creepier than the Trivago commercials. And I think **dracoi** has it right, both the company and the spokesperson are creepy. ---
**Author:** ![BwanaBob](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bwanabob/32/2985_2.png) [@BwanaBob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BwanaBob)\ **Post date:** [April 1, 2016, 3:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-the-trivago-guy-so-creepy/750780/14 "2016-04-01T15:25:22Z")
He reminds me of the old Orioles pitcher Jim Palmer. ---
**Author:** ![Philster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/13edae/32.png) [@Philster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Philster)\ **Post date:** [April 1, 2016, 3:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-the-trivago-guy-so-creepy/750780/15 "2016-04-01T15:47:21Z")
He reminds me of a chain smoker; I imagine he smells of smoke, and I change channels ASAP. Sort o’ creepy. Mostly annoying. His voice goes through my spine. . ---
**Author:** ![ZipperJJ](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zipperjj/32/211_2.png) [@ZipperJJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZipperJJ)\ **Post date:** [April 1, 2016, 3:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-the-trivago-guy-so-creepy/750780/16 "2016-04-01T15:47:21Z")
His mouth smiles but his eyes do not. ---
**Author:** ![JKilez](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e5b9ba/32.png) [@JKilez](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JKilez)\ **Post date:** [April 1, 2016, 5:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-the-trivago-guy-so-creepy/750780/17 "2016-04-01T17:22:15Z")
> [@ZipperJJ](#): > > His mouth smiles but his eyes do not. Because they are busy undressing you? ---
**Author:** ![Dung\_Beetle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dung_beetle/32/7945_2.png) [@Dung\_Beetle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dung_Beetle)\ **Post date:** [April 1, 2016, 5:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-the-trivago-guy-so-creepy/750780/18 "2016-04-01T17:32:44Z")
He looks okay to me. Of course, I am a famously bad judge of character. ---
**Author:** ![suranyi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e36b37/32.png) [@suranyi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/suranyi)\ **Post date:** [April 1, 2016, 9:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-the-trivago-guy-so-creepy/750780/19 "2016-04-01T21:27:33Z")
Trivago is based in Germany. That could explain why they used an actor who can speak German, and why the ads are a little off-putting to American ears. ---
**Author:** ![Guest-starring\_Id](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guest-starring_id/32/21736_2.png) [@Guest-starring\_Id](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guest-starring_Id)\ **Post date:** [April 1, 2016, 11:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-the-trivago-guy-so-creepy/750780/20 "2016-04-01T23:12:13Z")
> [@suranyi](#): > > Trivago is based in Germany. That could explain why they used an actor who can speak German, and why the ads are a little off-putting to American ears. I’ve never seen him speak any German, so that has no bearing on how this viewer finds him off-putting. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-the-trivago-guy-so-creepy/750780.md?page=2)