My favorite ad would have to be the ads from the Allstate mayhem campaign, in particular the one about the cat. In this campaign, an actor plays “mayhem” in all of its various forms which in this case is a cat. The ad depicts a fully grown man living in a house with a couple acting like a mischievous cat would – riding around on the roomba, scratching at the owners – all while wearing a suit, talking to the camera, and interacting with the couple as they pretend to have no idea of any of the things he’s saying as he’s just a cat to them. The ad ends with the “cat” turning the faucet on, flooding the bathroom, and causing the upstairs bathroom to collapse into the living room. He cautions that without the right insurance, the couple might not be protected “so get Allstate and be better protected from mayhem, like meow”. 

While I’ve always liked this ad just because I find it funny, looking at it after doing the readings definitely sheds some new light on why it’s effective. As discussed in Teavey, this ad seems to employ the third of the four tricks of effective advertising: solution. If homeowners wish to avoid having to pay for unusual damages out of pocket, they should get Allstate and be covered completely. In this series of ads, they’re giving solutions to problems homeowners, drivers, and others who need insurance don’t even know they have or now fear that they might have. They’ve also created an effective campaign by ending every ad with the same phrase – “So get Allstate and be better protected from mayhem, like me” (the meow was just for the cat ad which I found much funnier than I probably should have). By using the same tagline, they’re reinforcing the notion that Allstate is the best equipped insurance agency to protect consumers from unexpected events. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dHXL8A1dowo