# 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:** 2
**Author:** ![Ambivalid](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/a5b964/32.png) [@Ambivalid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ambivalid)\ **Post date:** [April 1, 2016, 11:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-the-trivago-guy-so-creepy/750780/21 "2016-04-01T23:23:44Z")
He’s better suited for a Viagra commercial. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![kurtisokc](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/bbce88/32.png) [@kurtisokc](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kurtisokc)\ **Post date:** [April 1, 2016, 11:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-the-trivago-guy-so-creepy/750780/22 "2016-04-01T23:34:53Z")
I’ve never found him to be off-putting, but I can kind of understand how some people might get a creepy vibe from him. I think it is just that he is a middle aged man who dresses and grooms himself like someone in his 20s. Then again, I’m a single guy in his 40s who wonders where the last 20 years have gone, so I can kind of relate. :o ---
**Author:** ![Nema98](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/d2c977/32.png) [@Nema98](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nema98)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2016, 1:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-the-trivago-guy-so-creepy/750780/23 "2016-04-02T01:09:47Z")
To me he strikes me as likeable and comes off as an ordinary are middle aged guy in America. Just my two cents. ---
**Author:** ![drad\_dog](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/aeb1de/32.png) [@drad\_dog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drad_dog)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2016, 1:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-the-trivago-guy-so-creepy/750780/24 "2016-04-02T01:17:04Z")
> [@Ambivalid](#): > > He’s better suited for a Viagra commercial. 😃 That is exactly it. There is a particular demographic that is used most often to sell ED products: 40s dude, greying hair and not shaved but not bearded, smiling a lot, probably likes classic rock and R and B, maybe plays an instrument. They just transferred it to another product. ---
**Author:** ![Cugel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cugel/32/1199_2.png) [@Cugel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cugel)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2016, 1:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-the-trivago-guy-so-creepy/750780/25 "2016-04-02T01:49:36Z")
The Australian ad’s protagonist is anything but creepy [![]( " - YouTube") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zv9UbMFWxnM) ---
**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 2, 2016, 2:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-the-trivago-guy-so-creepy/750780/26 "2016-04-02T02:02:36Z")
> [@Ambivalid](#): > > He’s better suited for a Viagra commercial. 😃 As the “before” picture. ---
**Author:** ![DonLogan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/51bf81/32.png) [@DonLogan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DonLogan)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2016, 3:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-the-trivago-guy-so-creepy/750780/27 "2016-04-03T15:17:11Z")
1. The look doesn’t match the product. 2. He doesn’t pull off the look. 3. The voice doesn’t match the actor, it looks/sounds dubbed. ---
**Author:** ![RivkahChaya](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rivkahchaya/32/8919_2.png) [@RivkahChaya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RivkahChaya)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2016, 3:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-the-trivago-guy-so-creepy/750780/28 "2016-04-03T15:36:14Z")
[Here’s the Trivago ad](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YRmLcUIqCHI). What’s creepy to me is the fact that he stares right at the camera through the whole commercial, except for one moment when he glances to the side. Either the director made a bad choice, or the guy just doesn’t green screen well. All those things he’s interacting with aren’t really there, and usually directors will make sure that something, guys with hand puppets, or a piece of glass with circles drawn on it, or something, in in place of where all the little digital pictures are going to be so the actor knows where to look. Either they didn’t do this, or the director said “Nevermind, just keep looking at the camera.” He reminds me of some people I’ve known with high-functioning autism, who are told to make more eye contact with people, so they end up staring at you, practically unblinking, all the time, when they talk to you. They are trying so hard to do what they’ve been told, they don’t even look away when they should, like to look down at a plate of food. Anyway, if the guy looked more at the things he is interacting with-- look at the button you are pushing, and soforth-- I think he’d be less creepy. In an adult male who obviously doesn’t have some kind of autism, staring down someone feels like some kind of dominance play. ---
**Author:** ![Loach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/loach/32/350_2.png) [@Loach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loach)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2016, 4:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-the-trivago-guy-so-creepy/750780/29 "2016-04-03T16:43:20Z")
[quote=“Cugel, post:25, topic:750780”] The Australian ad’s protagonist is anything but creepy [/QUOTE] Extremely not creepy. ---
**Author:** ![DJ\_Motorbike](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/90ced4/32.png) [@DJ\_Motorbike](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DJ_Motorbike)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2016, 6:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-the-trivago-guy-so-creepy/750780/30 "2016-04-03T18:54:24Z")
Just a normal guy. Not creepy at all. ---
**Author:** ![67java89](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/6/aeb1de/32.png) [@67java89](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/67java89)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2016, 9:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-the-trivago-guy-so-creepy/750780/31 "2016-04-03T21:40:20Z")
I think it’s a combo of his voice and the way he says Trivago…☹ ---
**Author:** ![rainy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c2a13f/32.png) [@rainy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rainy)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2016, 7:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-the-trivago-guy-so-creepy/750780/32 "2016-04-06T19:51:49Z")
There is some interplay between poor wardrobe choice and possibly a slightly unusual camera angle in that original commercial that make it appear his proportions aren’t quite right. The shirt with the rolled cuff and cut of those trousers make it appear as if his forearms and calves are way shorter than they should be. I see he is only 5’9", so maybe his proportions are somewhat different than the “perfect” we are used to seeing on TV, and the wardrobe emphasizes that. ---
**Author:** ![furryman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/furryman/32/99_2.png) [@furryman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/furryman)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2016, 6:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-the-trivago-guy-so-creepy/750780/33 "2016-04-07T18:11:41Z")
Because Creepy Jeff Goldblum, creepy Norman Campbell and that creepy guy from the Amazon commercial are popular? ---
**Author:** ![stillownedbysetters](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/41988e/32.png) [@stillownedbysetters](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/stillownedbysetters)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2016, 7:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-the-trivago-guy-so-creepy/750780/34 "2016-04-07T19:05:14Z")
All I know is that if that gentleman invited me out for “some fava beans and a fine chianti”, I’d say NO! lol ---
**Author:** ![joyfool](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/df788c/32.png) [@joyfool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/joyfool)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2016, 7:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-the-trivago-guy-so-creepy/750780/35 "2016-04-07T19:55:27Z")
It looks like someone melted Scott Bakula. And in no way, shape or form is Jeff Goldblum creepy. Mmmmm, Jeff Goldblum. ---
**Author:** ![RivkahChaya](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rivkahchaya/32/8919_2.png) [@RivkahChaya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RivkahChaya)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2016, 12:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-the-trivago-guy-so-creepy/750780/36 "2016-04-08T00:05:30Z")
> [@faithfool](#): > > And in no way, shape or form is Jeff Goldblum creepy. Mmmmm, Jeff Goldblum. Jeff Goldblum looks like my little brother. Yeesh. ---
**Author:** ![Sir\_T-Cups](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ed655f/32.png) [@Sir\_T-Cups](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sir_T-Cups)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2016, 1:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-the-trivago-guy-so-creepy/750780/37 "2016-04-08T01:45:54Z")
> [@dracoi](#): > > 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. This may be, but when I needed a hotel room literally that day I used their app for an extraordinarily easy experience. I got an above average hotel for cheap. ---
**Author:** ![joyfool](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/df788c/32.png) [@joyfool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/joyfool)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2016, 3:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-the-trivago-guy-so-creepy/750780/38 "2016-04-08T03:00:20Z")
> [@RivkahChaya](#): > > Jeff Goldblum looks like my little brother. Yeesh. How’s _he_ doin’? 😛 ---
**Author:** ![astro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9dc877/32.png) [@astro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astro)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2016, 8:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-the-trivago-guy-so-creepy/750780/39 "2016-04-09T20:05:40Z")
Don’t be a hater … mmm… ooh la la! [You’re Not the Only One With a Crush on Trivago Guy](http://www.elle.com/culture/movies-tv/q-and-a/a27797/trivago-man-interview/) > [@](#): > > And his allure is no accident. When casting Trivago Guy, advertising execs intentionally meant to appeal to a female audience. “Women have a lot of … purchasing power when it comes to leisure travel,” says Jon Eichelberger, regional manager of Trivago North. So while sites like [Priceline.com](http://Priceline.com) and [Booking.com](http://Booking.com) launched commercials geared toward young men, middle-aged men, and men who dig William Shatner, Trivago attempted to gain a competitive foothold by casting someone who might tickle heterosexual women. > > Enter Tim Williams: a Houston-born, Berlin-based actor and musician, and Trivago’s secret weapon. His relationship with Trivago started with voiceovers for the company’s earlier commercials. Prior to that he was mostly known around Berlin for his role on the German soap opera Gute Zeiten, Schlechte Zeiten (English translation: Good Times, Bad Times). He’s now so well-known in the U.S. that upon learning I’d landed an interview with him, friends of mine told people who went ahead and told other people. (Word travels fast when it comes to Trivago Guy.) Soon, my inbox was exploding with succinct-yet-aggressive emails with the subject line “Trivago.” ---
**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 9, 2016, 9:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-the-trivago-guy-so-creepy/750780/40 "2016-04-09T21:19:18Z")
He’s supposed to be appealing to women? Well, I know I’m not typical, but ugh. Creepy is the exact word. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-the-trivago-guy-so-creepy/750780.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-the-trivago-guy-so-creepy/750780.md?page=3)