My favorite ad recently is the Progressive Insurance commercial that follows a group of people trying to avoid becoming their parents, specifically the group outing version attached above. It is impressive how well targeted the audience of this commercial is due to two methods of advertising. First, a great tool the creators of this ad utilizes is humor that is cross-generational. Younger people can laugh and see the idiosyncrasies of their older parents sighing when they sit down, talking on speakerphone in public, or helping strangers back out their cars. Parents or older people can see themselves in the actions of the “focus group” and either have a laugh at how silly their actions actually are or just be generally confused as to what is wrong with the actors’ actions. Either way both generations have a stake in the commercial just based on the very relatable everyday actions that are presented. Second, not only does the content apply to multiple target generations, but also multiple demographics. Like Bezio discussed regarding the Goldfish commercial, the advertisers behind the Progressive commercial manage to represent both black and white American demographics.
Furthermore, Progressive has managed to make this commercial memorable in my opinion to the company without insurance even being the main focus. The commercial begins by referencing that Dr. Rick is there to help “new homeowners” and then goes into the different scenarios where those new homeowners might be transforming into their parents. These scenarios are almost the antithesis of the fantasy we would have for a future. Not many people desire transforming into their parents who can be dorky or embarrassing. After watching all of these scenarios, the narrator says that Progressive cannot protect you from becoming your parents, but they can protect your new home! The ad plays on that with the message that Progressive can somehow prevent this fantasy from becoming a reality. Now, there is actually no explanation or any real ways in which an insurance company could stop you from becoming your parents but that doesn’t even matter. The message the majority of the commercial has is pretty unrelated to the message of getting Progressive insurance, but that doesn’t even matter. I still connect the two and here I am talking about Progressive Insurance, and isn’t that just another underlying goal of an advertisement?
I find this ad very funny. I agree that by showcasing a wide degree of variety in the “customers” Progressive is trying to appeal to a wide audience. The ad is trying to draw a connection between those customers and the customers that can use Progressive. Progressive has a wide variety of ad campaigns, but I believe that this is one of their more successful ones as it introduces a new concept reducing the fatigue that consumers may feel from the Flo ads.
You make a good point about how humor creates a memorable ad and diverts the audience’s focus. Only at the very beginning and end do they remind us that this is a commercial for home insurance. I imagine that advertising is challenging for a company that doesn’t have a tangible product or service. Insurance companies, for example, need to think outside the box and find ways to create positive associations with their brand, all without showing off a product.