–James Mahoney, Razor’s Edge Communications
Admit it, when you saw the headline, many of you finished the jingle featured in Farmers Insurance TV commercials.
Farmers has a great campaign going. Geico has a good campaign going. Both are entertaining. First, Farmers:
Their “Hall of Claims” series, developed by RPA, showcases weird situations that Farmers has paid claims on. RPA’s latest iteration on the “University of Farmers” campaign is terrific. It has a catchy jingle and a catchy tagline, “We know a thing or two because we’ve seen a thing or two.”
Right off the bat, every ad is unmistakably Farmers, from the opening shot of the set to the friendly, matter-of-fact delivery of spokesman J.K. Simmons. A consistent and long-term campaign, it always offers fresh interest.
Geico’s ads, developed by the Martin Agency, take a different tack. You don’t know whose ad it is until the payoff line hits partway through, like “Casual Friday at Buckingham Palace? Surprising. What’s not surprising? How much money [particular customer] saved by switching to Geico.”
The Farmers “Hall of Claims” ads are stronger than Geico’s “Surprising” series for a couple of reasons:
First, Geico’s creative doesn’t relate specifically to insurance the way that Farmers’ does. That doesn’t necessarily mean that it’s a weak campaign, but it does mean that they need to hammer harder and more often to establish the connection.
Second, there’s no immediately discernable Geico style since the scenarios are wildly different from one another. That raises the odds that, except for the more intriguing scenarios, someone will skip or otherwise tune them out with nary a thought of Geico. It’s also a factor that other companies are running campaigns that use the same “surprise” approach. That makes the competition for mindshare that much harder when there’s no obvious or intuitive link to the advertiser.
Our personal favorite Geico ad is Casual Friday at Buckingham Palace. As we fast-forward through commercial breaks, we’ll actually stop at that one to see it again. Funny stuff, well written and brilliantly acted.
Now compare that to any Farmers ad of the weird things they’ve insured. The difference is that one is entertainment sponsored by Geico, the other is indelible proof points, unforgettably Farmers, presented in an entertaining fashion.
That’s the difference between a great campaign and a good one. I like them both.