ESURANCE revs up auto insurance
Brand: esurance (White Mountains Insurance Group)
Execution: TV, Online
Link: Spot 1,2 Website
Target: Anime-loving Drivers
Rating: ***
Reviewer: David
Description:
This campaign features cartoon-style commercials for the online insurance company ESURANCE. The Speed Racer-style spots feature Erin, the ESURANCE agent. In each of these spots Erin is having some sort of adventure which requires car insurance (or home insurance in one of the latest).
What Works:
We love the creativity blossoming in the insurance field (see Suzanne Vranica’s commentary on Geico in the Wall Street Journal here) as quacking ducks, geckos, cavemen and NASCAR drivers compete for our attention in a once-staid category. ESURANCE stands out in this field with a campaign that borrows from Japanese anime, looking unlike almost anything else in television advertising. Rather than distracting, this unique visual style will appeal more strongly to the core ESURANCE consumer: young, Internet-savvy drivers who view the Internet as convenient rather than confusing or impersonal. The product benefits for ESURANCE - getting insured quickly and printing out proof of insurance from a computer printer are all perfectly pitched to this consumer.
From a branding standpoint, we believe the visual style is effective partly because it is polarizing. Some people will dislike these spots intensely. Those who like the cartoon style and quick-cut anime storytelling, however, will fit nicely into the profitable business model that ESURANCE is building. The campaignability of this concept is excellent and the style is visually unique enough for this category to be ownable for ESURANCE.
What Doesn’t:
It takes good concentration to follow these ads and there is some danger of the message being lost in the medium. However the primary audience for this pitch will recognize the format and remember the brand.
Bottom Line:
ESURANCE has us missing Saturday mornings.