The TV pitchman for metasearch site Trivago may be rubbing some people the wrong way. But whatever he's doing, it seems to be working for the Dusseldorf-based travel search site. As the Skift website sums up: "Trivago's Ad Pitchman: Creepy, Handsome or Just Effective?"
The center of the attention is Houston-born Tim Williams, 48, who plays an American rock 'n roll dad on the German soap opera "Gute Zeiten Schlechte Zeitin" ("Good Times, Bad Times,") according to Skift, a website for the travel industry and consumers.
"Most of the talk centers on his scraggly look, his open collar, and belt-less, low-hanging pants, with some finding him appearing as if he just finished a three-day crack-inspired bender, and others finding the look sexy," Skift writes. "For the record, a stylist created the Trivago Guy look in a 'painstaking process,' and they settled on the belt-less, scraggly look after trying out a variety of garb that included suits and belts, Williams says."
Trivago, which has been majority-owned by Expedia since 2013, is benefiting from the campaign and finding a larger audience, company officials said.
Read the full story at Skift.
—By CNBC staff. Follow Road Warrior on Twitter at @CNBCtravel.