Insurance Overload

Let's start with a simple list:

• Like a Good Neighbor, State Farm is There.
• Now That's Progressive.
• You're in Good Hands with Allstate.
• Nationwide is On Your Side.
• Fifteen Minutes Could Save You 15% or More on Car Insurance.

Sound familiar? Yes, you know them all. You've heard them a million times. And you probably sang a couple in your head as you read through them. 


Now, that simple list of tag lines gets a bit bulkier when we start to name all of the individual advertisements for each of those major insurance companies. Over the past decade, insurance advertising has become somewhat of a battle. Companies are trying to target "Twentysomethings" by making insurance more fun and relatable by creating memorable characters. And create they did. Each major company has at least one recognizable character in dozens of television commercials to help sell the brand. But here's my question: Are these characters actually selling the brands?



The insurance industry has pumped billions (yes, billions) of dollars into advertising in the past few years. In fact, the advertising for the industry reached a record of $5 billion in spending in 2010. But are those billions of dollars doing their job? Are consumers recognizing the brands and all that they have to offer?


I'm 24 years old and right in the middle of the companies' Twentysomething market. I've seen all of the commercials and some of them are my favorite commercials on television. I think they're great. Mayhem? Hilarious. Flo? Awkwardly funny. The World's Greatest Spokesperson in the World? Awesome title. And the Piggy with the pinwheel? My current favorite. I laugh every time. I could name (almost) every commercial out there, give my opinion, and maybe even recite a few lines. But ask me what specific insurance they are selling or the great ways in which they can save me money and it's more like.."Uhh.." And sometimes I can't even keep the companies straight. 

I'm not sure if I'm the only Twentysomething who notices this. Maybe it's because I'm not looking to purchase insurance at this moment? I really don't know. But I do know that there is a major focus on making these characters big and the commercials even bigger. Flo is a phenomenon. She has her own distinct look and a price gun. And with the help of Progressive.com, you can create your own Flo costume. (I would know because I was Flo for Halloween two years ago...) Mayhem has his own Facebook page. During the NFL Playoffs, people were doing the "Discount Double Check" instead of Aaron Rodgers' "touchdown dance." It's crazy how much we acknowledge these insurance characters!

I feel that sometimes this focus is overshadowing the main purpose of advertising: to sell. Numbers show that this type of advertising has helped companies like Progressive, State Farm, and GEICO. But that's not the case for all of these big-names. Regardless, it doesn't seem like the trend will be disappearing any time soon. 

And to think that this big business all started with this little guy...

Here are a couple of my favorite insurance commercials:

Credit: New York Post