State Farm introduces a questionable, driver feedback app with a cute commercial.

Commercial

Commercial starts with teen walking out of the house to his car with cellphone in hand. At the car, his dad has attached a number of homemade contraptions to track the teens driving behavior.

Teen: Dad, whatcha doing?

Dad: Come here. Ya gotta see this. (Pointing to a satellite dish) This will tell me where you are and how fast you’re going. And this, when the ball hits the sensor tells me how fast you turned. Oh! And you remember the old video camera.

Teen: Dad. You know that this (pointing to cellphone) can do all of that (pointing to inventions), right?

Commercial goes to a computer graphic of the different screens for the app.

Announcer: The driver feedback app, start it, stop it, see how you did, see where you went. Get tips for driving, and even better – it’s free. Download the driver feedback app now!

Commercial goes back to dad in front of the car.

Dad: But can it do this?

Dad locks the car and it plays a tune. Teen folds hands behind his head in exasperation.

Point of Commercial

State Farm is introducing a new app for teen drivers. While they are targeting parents of teen drivers, it feels like an extension of the campaign aimed at trying to appeal to the younger generation of drivers, also (see Buffalo Jingle commercial).

What They Want You to Do

They aren’t asking for your business, they just want you to use their app. Read the fine print before you download it though.

My Opinion

Don’t get me wrong, I really like this commercial. It’s funny, it’s memorable, and the commercial hits its target of parents of driving, or soon to be driving, teens perfectly. What I don’t like is the app itself.

As a parent of a teen, there is a problem and the impending excuse that comes to mind immediately. The problem is that the teen is responsible for turning on the app via their cellphone for you to be able to track them. How many teens out there want their parents tracking their driving, let alone voluntarily subjecting themselves to it?

As I asked myself this question and tried to find the solution of making them turn it on, the excuse of “ I forgot” immediately came to mind for each time you ask as to why they didn’t turn it on. Sorry, but thinking that this app isn’t going to be as helpful as the tracking devices that are attached to the car like the ones from GEICO and SAFECO.

But since we are here to talk about the commercial and not the app, let me return to our beaten path with a rating. The funny, on target, State Farm driver feedback app commercial, gets two thumbs up from me.

SafeAuto goes old school in introducing a new insurance program.

SafeAuto Commercial

Jingle Singers: Norm, for SAFEAUTO!

Norm Macdonald walks into the scene with two cars behind him. One is trashed and one is very nice.

Norm: What is the difference between this car, and this car?

Norm points to the nice car first and then the junker.

Norm: (pointing to the nice car) This one is owned by someone who is a little farther along in life; while this one is owned by someone who lives in constant fear of tetanus (pointing to the junker).

Now, SafeAuto can insurance both cars of course, but if you have something newer make sure to ask for our new “morenimum” coverage. More coverage, same great value.

Screen changes to a red road with a red car flying down it as Norm is still talking.

Norm: 1-800-SAFEAUTO. Drive safe, spend less

Screen changes again, this time to the SAFEAUTO logo, their 800 number under it, “Drive Safe Spend Less”, and finally the webpage safeauto.com/morenimum.

Point of the SafeAuto Commercial

SafeAuto Insurance has 3 objectives in this commercial.

First, they are going for funny by bringing in Norm Macdonald. Second, they are introducing a new product to the public. Third, they are trying to reach out to an older group of drivers to expand their customer base.

What SafeAuto Wants You to Do

SafeAuto is generally associated with younger, inexperienced drivers that are looking for just state minimum coverages. With this commercial, spokesperson, and new product SafeAuto is trying to attract the attention of driver’s 35 and older.

Most drivers over 35 are exactly at that place Norm is talking about. They are a little further along in life to have nicer vehicles now, and they are beyond the point of being able to protect everything they own with only state minimum coverages. Not only could they not protect everything, they are more likely to have a lienholder on those nicer vehicles that will require them to carry more than the state minimums.

Also, Norm Macdonald is someone that mostly the 30+ crowd can associate more with because of his time on Saturday Night Live. So they are wanted this specific group of drivers to at least want to find out more about SafeAuto.

My Opinion of the SafeAuto Commercial

I am feeling mediocre about this commercial at best. There is just something boring about this commercial that I just can’t pinpoint. But I did pull this one to analyze because it had Norm Macdonald in it and I remember watching him do the Weekend Report on Saturday Night Live. So SafeAuto did catch my interest with this spokesperson.

But, the commercial itself didn’t leave me wanting to find out more about this new morenimum coverage.

I would have to give this SafeAuto commercial a thumbs down for not peaking my interest and a thumbs up for bringing in Norm Macdonald.

Allstate decides to take a little artistic license with the well-known, Cinderella fairytale.

Summary

Usually I give a full summary of the commercial here, including everything that is said and done. However, with this one there isn’t enough room to provide the summary and analysis. This commercial is 2 ½ minutes long, so I am just going to give a quick rundown of what happens. I really recommend that you watch the commercial, instead of only reading the summary.

Here we go:

The commercial starts with a dad reading his daughter a bedtime story. The story happens to be Cinderella, but with an Allstate twist. As the dad proceeds to tell the story, the daughter adds her own, funny details to the story.

She adds that Cinderella not only lives with her stepmother and two stepsisters, but she has a pet pony in the house, as well. If you think about it though, the pony is probably more realistic than having talking mice as pets.

The story goes on as normal, until Cinderella flees the ball before the stroke of midnight.

As the driver drives away from the castle with Cinderella in the carriage, he gets into an accident. Cinderella’s fairy godmother then reappears and whips out her cellphone to call her Allstate agent.

The Allstate agent has the broken carriage (this thing is in pieces) towed away, and Cinderella’s “rental carriage reimbursement” provides her with a new carriage to get home. But before she can get in her “rental carriage” the prince catches up to her with her missing shoe, and they live happily ever after.

Point of Commercial

I wasn’t really sure what the point of this Allstate Cinderella commercial was when I first watched it, besides being cute. But after thinking about it, I am wondering if Allstate isn’t trying to reach out to the younger ones that don’t quite have their driver’s licenses yet.

With throwing in the rental coverage into the story of Cinderella, you are teaching those that don’t know much about insurance how rental reimbursement work. So when they do start to drive, they will know about the coverage and think about putting it on their vehicle.

What They Want You to Do

Allstate wants you to laugh and they do a good job in getting that done. You would have to be made of stone not to find at least one thing funny about this commercial.

It is also a cute commercial for Allstate. Both the cuteness and the laughter create positive feelings in your head for Allstate, leading to a higher opinion of the insurance company.

My Opinion

This is a really cute commercial, and I know that this wasn’t meant as a mainstream type commercial, but kudos to Allstate for getting creative. Also, a big thank you for not telling us the amount of money Cinderella saved by going with Allstate, instead of another cut-rate carriage insurance.

Giving this Allstate Cinderella commercial two thumbs up.

Nationwide Insurance creates a great commercial that may be so good that it’s distracting.

Summary

Commercial opens with the Nationwide Insurance flag unfurling in the wind.

Announcer: In the Nation, we can’t make every annoying thing disappear.

Scene shows man looking in mirror disappointed and then surprised when his pot belly disappears.

Announcer: But we can eliminate deductibles.

The scene changes to an annoyed man in an airplane seat that is being used as a pillow by the man sitting next to him. The sleeping man disappears and the man left is surprised, but then smiles.

Announcer: Nationwide Insurance members who have vanishing deductible, get one-hundred dollars off for every year of safe driving.

Scene shows a busy city freeway at rush hour. All of the cars then disappear to the pleasure of the remaining driver left on the road.

Announcer: We put members first, because we don’t have shareholders. Join the Nation where deductibles go…….

New scene shows a well-dressed girl and her tattooed boyfriend in the front of a house where her disapproving father is looking out the window. The boyfriend and his car go *poof*. Father is shown with a smile on his face at the window once the boyfriend and car have disappeared.

Jingle: Nationwide is on your side.

Commercial closes with a blue screen and the Nationwide Insurance logo on it. Below the logo is 877-nationwide, local agent and jointhenation.com.

Point of Commercial

The commercial is Nationwide’s way of showing you how vanishing deductible works. They also had the same type of commercial with Danica Patrick and Dale Earnhardt Jr. when the vanishing deductible was first introduced.

What They Want You to Do

They want you to be impressed and visualize all your troubles disappearing. Once you realize that really can’t happen, then they want you to think how nice it would be to at least not have a deductible to pay if you were in a car accident.

If you listen hard to the commercial, there are also other perks to this program in additional to the vanishing deductible.

My Opinion

When I watched this commercial online I didn’t think anything of who the announcer was, and I watched the thing 3-4 times. It wasn’t until I heard the same commercial on the radio that I realized it was Julia Roberts talking. I am not sure if that is good or bad.

I am thinking that it is good because they captured my attention with what was happening on the screen. That means that there is a higher chance that I will remember the commercial.

However, this is also bad. I was so intent on watching what was on the screen that I wasn’t paying attention to what was being said. It also means that if asked later, I wouldn’t remember whose commercial it is. There is a little Nationwide logo on the screen for the whole commercial, but it is not really noticeable unless you are looking for it.

Overall, it is a good and I would have to give this Nationwide Insurance Commercial a thumbs up.

Liberty Mutual takes a simple message and creates a compelling  commercial from it.

Summary

During the commercial the song “Human” by The Human League is playing in the background for the entire commercial.

The commercial opens with a woman opening her car door and reaching over to the passenger seat to grab something. As she has her backed turned, a truck speeds by and takes out her door.

Screen switches to a scene where people are walking across the street and the letters “humans” are in the road.

Announcer: Humans

Screen switches again and we see a young man feeding a parking meter as his car starts rolling backwards down the hill and away from him.

Announcer: We mean well, but we’re imperfect creatures living in an beautifully, imperfect world.

Next, we are in a restaurant where a man is having the familiar trouble with getting ketchup out of a glass bottle. When the ketchup finally decides to make an appearance, it flies past the plate and all over the white blouse of the woman next to him.

Announcer: Sometimes the little things get us, and other times……

Scene changes to a man trying to put a window air conditioner in his apartment window, until he drops it on the car below.

Announcer: ……… the not so little.

Another scene change to a woman spray painting a metal chair with red spray paint. Once she admires a job well done on the chair, she realizes that the aerosol paint has drifted to her car and now her car is partially red.

Screen moves to a woman coming in to a house and closing the glass sliding door to the patio behind her. The man that was outside on the patio at the BBQ turns around to come in also and he runs right into the glass door.

Announcer: It’s amazing we’ve made it this far.

Commercial continues…………

Point of Commercial

Liberty Mutual plays this commercial well. They hit very hard on the fact that insurance is around to cover us when we make mistakes, and because we are all human we all make them. They don’t play on how much money they are going to save you or how much better they are than anyone else. They simply tell you that when you make a mistake, they will be there to help you undo the damage.

What They Want You to Do

Liberty Mutual wants you to think highly of them. They want you to think about your insurance company and if they are there for you when you need them. If not, try Liberty Mutual because they are telling you that they will be there for you.

My Opinion

I really like this commercial. There is no hard sell in it, they aren’t mudslinging, and they aren’t being obnoxious. They are cutting straight to the chase and telling you that they will be there to help when you make mistakes. This is exactly what insurance is about and it is refreshing for a company to send such a simple message.

Now, I need to go find their telephone number and call for a quote.

I give this Liberty Mutual commercial two thumbs up.