We think Farmers Insurance, and their agency of record RPA, are really on a roll from a creativity and breaking through standpoint. Back in January, they unveiled a series of 30-second , “It’s Smarter to Have a Plan” spots that were shown during college football bowl games. A nice break from the normal beer, wings and car ads.
Professor Burke makes a house call.
It was an evolution of the “University of Farmers” campaign, which featured well-known actor, J.K. Simmons, as the clever and quirky Professor Nathaniel Burke.
In the new campaign, Professor Burke leaves the confines of the University of Farmers campus, and ventures to the real world where insurance meets the customer. Burke walks with customers through a number of settings and will point out risks that a consumer might not have previously considered.
The focus of the Farmers campaign is on helping consumers avoid problems. Rather than concentrating on price of coverage explanations, the campaign will feature helpful tips to empower consumers. Very cool.
Fast forwarding to this week, we just caught a glimpse of their 15-second tip-clips (our word) and they are hilarious.
Here are a couple of examples.
These and 13 others can be found on YouTube and housed on a landing-page site that will live off of the brand website, at Smart.Farmers.com.
We read that the game plan, being driven again again by the clever folks at RPA, calls for several Vine videos spouting quick tips to start appearing on Twitter starting Aug. 12.
Good clean fun with a point. We like that.
We also like that they honed in on the number “15.”
You see, another insurance company (the Government Employees Insurance Company, AKA GEICO) has been pushing their “15 minutes can save you 15% or more on car insurance” slogan for years.
We feel Farmers cleverly incorporated the 15 AND provided real value beyond mere price. That’s an awesome thing.
Hate to say it, but if a Farmers’ 15 showed up as pre-roll, it would be the one series of ads that wouldn’t annoy us. Brands of the world, please take notice.
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Tommie just found this:
http://www.mediapost.com/publications/article/207255/farmers-insurance-nascar-partnership-pays-off.html
Looks like a NASCAR push is happening too — Covering all the bases. –Dossie