Expedia rolls out new logo, ad campaign

Online travel agency Expedia is ditching its decade-old logo as part of a larger rebranding effort.

As before, an airplane and circular blue "globe" make up the new logo. But the plane is white, not yellow, and the whole look and feel is "less cartoonish," said Paul Leonard, VP of brand marketing at Bellevue-based Expedia.

"We were striving for a more timeless and classic aesthetic," he said. "It's a little less whimsical and more sophisticated."

The logo also gets a new tagline, "Where You Book Matters."

In a related move, Expedia will launch an advertising campaign Saturday aimed at one of two types of customers: the frequent leisure traveler and unmanaged business traveler, such as a sole proprietor or small-business employee.

Click here for one of three commercials set to air by the end of January.

"I think in the past, we had a more broadly defined, less-clearly-articulated target audience," Leonard said. "It was just general online travelers."

The Martin Agency developed the ad campaign after winning the account in August.

Expedia's signature "dot.cooom" chorus remains.