By Bill Donoghue

It’s that time of year again. The other travel season. And nothing gets the people moving like a funny ad. I’ve got some favorites.

For starters, I have to admit I have a special connection with the “Wanna get away?” Southwest Airlines commercials, the ones where they show someone do something mortifying (like accidentally destroying someone’s medicine cabinet) and then ask, “Wanna get away?” They’re funny and hit really close to home. They’re like my own personal version of The Hills – sans backstabbing-babes and pool parties. They literally could be taken straight out of my life. Want an example? How about calling your current girlfriend by your ex-girlfriend’s name? Oh, yeah. That happened. There’s not a deep enough hole to crawl into if that goes down. Let me tell you.

Wanna get away? Is the Space Shuttle taking reservations?

Southwest (an NFL sponsor) also delivers with their “Must Be Football Season” campaign. It’s the one where people are so happy it’s football season that they treat everyday occurrences (bending over to pick something up) like an actual game (QB under center). Just a word of advice: if you’re at the bank and someone drops something, when they bend over to pick it up, I would suggest not reenacting “QB under center.” Even if the person knows the ad, I’ve found that strangers are not okay with you reaching under their behind. It’s danger fraught. That said, I’m surprisingly okay with how I look with a black eye, especially once the swelling has gone down. This, by the way, is not an invitation to come up and pop me on the street…unless of course it’s your behind I’m reaching under. It is still football season.

Then there’s Travelocity who has been working with a twist on the “recurring character” model that makes me oddly jealous. That garden gnome fellow is racking up serious travel miles. One time watching the ads I actually wished I was a garden gnome, thinking “That’s the life.” He’s in a campaign right now where he hits “wish list” destinations spanning the globe: #11 cliff-diving in Mexico, #65 touring volcanos in Hawaii, #10 staying at an all-ice hotel….I’m starting my own “wish list”, but I think it’ll need to start a little closer to ground level.

Travel wish #1: Get off sofa.

Another good one is Priceline with their enigmatic spokesperson, Bill Shatner, {cue music, karate moves} Priceline Negotiator. Ever seen his lounge singer version of “Bust A Move?” Classic. I don’t think you can go wrong with Shatner. Priceline targets the economical traveler getting the lowest fairs possible. Up ‘til now, I bargain-traveled the old fashioned way: using friends’ frequent-flier miles. Thanks, Matt and Sarah.

And how about hotels.com? They have a really funny campaign about the lengths hotels will go to (getting carried to your room, suitcase full of cash) to ensure a good review. My favorite is the guy who is impressed to get TWO bottles of shampoo (“It’s working. Ah, it’s wor-king!”). All funny. But accurate? At a recent hotel stay I asked the bellhop for my ride to my room and he told me to go ‘F’ myself. Not the response I expected. On second thought, I don’t think he was the bellhop. Probably part of the Nutcracker convention. Also would explain why I ended up wearing my luggage as a hat. (Those dancing toy soldier guys are humorless!)

Hey, I think these ads are working because all this travel talk is making me want to take a trip. Where should I go? Overseas? The last time I left the country was on a short cut to Detroit through Canada. It triggered a strange sense of paranoia and the feeling I’d wandered into a David Cronenberg movie prompting me to call my friend Jeremiah and exclaim, “I’m surrounded by foreigners!” His reply? “Dude, you’re the foreigner.” Mmm, good call. Good call.

So, maybe it’s time again to cross some borders. How about Bali? Saint-Tropez? The Kasbah? Upton? Lots of attractive choices. (Now, I’m gonna get popped by someone from Upton). Time to book my flight.

You are now free to move about the country.