Tongue-in-cheek works for insurance

Has anyone else noticed lately that almost all insurance advertising has taken a turn towards humor? Did companies finally get the memo that insurance is confusing and boring to the average consumer? Geico, with their Gecko, the cavemen, and the sarcastic spokesman seem to have paved the way for Allstate, State Farm, and Progressive to break free of the shackles of insurance advertising stigma in the mainstream markets. The tactic now is simply, get everyone’s attention, give them a crumb of incentive, get them to giggle, and you can fill them in on the specifics later. Even Nationwide has joined the humor ranks, although they adhere to educating the consumer in the process (using a quirky spokesman to define insurance terms).

Don’t get me wrong, I am hardly a fan of Geico. Their ads alone drive me away from their service (a company that runs five different campaigns at once doesn’t exactly instill me with a lot of confidence about their decision-making capabilities, let alone how much they must spend on advertising, rather than helping their customers :end rant:). Despite my seemingly unreasonable dislike of Geico, I can still appreciate the leap that insurance companies can make from stuffy, distant and professional to lighthearted, funny and memorable, because of their bombardment of offbeat advertising.

As it turns out, despite the dull subject matter, funny insurance commercials have become my current favorites. I’m always on the lookout for new Mayhem to be avoided with the help of Allstate or I’m thinking “I could have gotten a falcon!” from State Farm. Even Progressive’s character Flo has her own silly place in my realm of appreciation.

These commercials cause voluntary conversations. Not because the jingle has been stuck in your head for days or because you had an accident and no longer have a choice, but because you want to, because you like it. Those positive feelings reflect back on the company, just like they would if you met a person who made you laugh.

The way I view it, I may not know much about any of these companies, except vaguely saving money, great coverage, the definition of vanishing deductible and countless catchy jingles, but, the fact that I can correctly link each TV spot/jingle/spokesman/message to each company speaks infinitely about the power of humor.