For creative marketing gimmicks Arbella Insurance created an interesting one.

Commercial

Commercial opens with a couple walking down the sidewalk laughing and enjoying their cups of coffee. From behind them a guy driving a very interesting car pulls up and calls out to get their attention. The seats in the back of the car are not normal car seats, but a love seat like the one you would have in your house or apartment.

Driver: Pssst, hey! Yeah, you two. You guys heard about this car-partment thing?

The guy and girl look at each other confused.

Girl: Excuse me?

Driver: Yeah, it’s only like the most amazing insurance coverage ever. You get your car insurance from Arbella, right, and then they throw in renter’s insurance for like $3.00 a week. Is that crazy or what? Hahaha.

Guy: Sounds pretty great actually.

Driver: What will they think of next?

Driver drives off.

Driver: (as he is driving off he waves and yells) Tell your friends.

Announcer: Yep, it’s a big deal.

Girl: (waving at the guy driving away) Thank you.

Announcer: Introducing carpartment insurance from Arbella. Sign up for car insurance and get renter’s for as little as 3 bucks a week. Arbella. Here for good.

What Arbella Insurance Is Trying to Do

Arbella Insurance is introducing a new product for those drivers that live in apartments. The commercial seems to be targeting the 20-somethings with the language that is used, the coffees in hand, and the actions of the actors. This specific group of drivers is the age group that is traditionally most likely to be living in an apartment, compared to older drivers that have purchased homes, so targeting this market is a good idea.

My Thoughts on This Arbella Insurance Commercial

Arbella Insurance may want to consider that with the recent recession we went through, there were a lot of people that lost their homes and are now living in apartments. So they may want to think about adding to this carpartment advertising introduction to appeal to a wider audience base that includes older drivers and drivers with families.

Arbella did do a good job in creating a memorable marketing prop with the car that was half an apartment and a car. Something memorable like that will make Arbella stick out when young people are calling around for insurance coverage.

Overall, I give this Arbella Insurance commercial one thumb up for good advertising methods, but also one thumb down because when the commercial ended I felt “meh” about the commercial as a whole.

Wawanesa’s new J.D. Power ranking is something to shout about, but they rather not.

Commercial

Commercial opens with two young people in a car and continues to show different drivers and families using their cars for their everyday routine, as well as having fun driving. As the announcer talks the commercial shows:

• an older driver standing by a car and the award that Wawanesa earned from J.D. Power
• a middle-aged couple taking a drive in their convertible
• a dad handing over the keys to the car to his teen daughter
• a woman and her dog sitting in the back of her antique truck that she uses to haul stuff for her garden
• a family unpacking groceries
• a young couple getting ready to go skiing
• finally a young man jumping over the door of the convertible he was in to impress the girl in the car.

Announcer: We’re Wawanesa Insurance, J.D. Power and Associates ranks us highest in customer satisfaction amongst auto insurers in California. We almost hired the loud lady that sells food choppers on TV to tell you that (shows the loud lady chef that sells food choppers on TV), but that’s not how we role.

We quietly give great rates to good drivers. Besides the best sales people are our own policy holders. After all, their referrals account for nearly half of our new business. So call now, please. Very personable quote specialists are standing by.

Commercial ends with the Wawanesa Insurance logo on the screen and the 4 different types of insurance they sell. Below that is the phone number for Wawanesa and “call now”.

What Wawanesa Is Trying To Do

Wawanesa is taking the high road and completely bypassing the whole price war that is so heavily focused on between insurance companies. Instead, they are focusing on one of the bigger things that cause drivers to switch insurance companies, their customer service.

They don’t make a big fuss out of it either. Instead, they quietly tell you that they won a J.D. Power customer service award which this award alone is enough to make many people switch. But by advertising it, they are trying to spark the interest of drivers that are not happy with the customer service at their own insurance company right now.

The icing on the customer service argument comes at the end when they basically tell you that their customer service is not only good enough to win an award, it is also so good that half their new business comes from word of mouth advertising. Word of mouth advertising is when a person is so happy with a product or a service that they tell everyone they know about it. Companies love this type of advertising, because it’s free.

And to get to the point that your service is so good that half of your business comes from this type of advertising means that you are very good at what you do.

My Thoughts on this Wawanesa Commercial

There are two types of insurance commercials that I like to watch (when I have to, I don’t watch insurance commercials for fun); the ones with humor and then the ones that spark a desire to go out and do something fun.

For me, this Wawanesa commercial falls into the latter. Seeing all these people having fun around and driving their cars makes me want to take a road trip. I honestly didn’t even think about insurance when I watched. My mind keyed in on the impressive customer service and all the fun the people were having with their cars. At the end of the commercial I felt very calm and relaxed.

I think that Wawanesa put this commercial together beautifully and I am giving it two thumbs up.

For many across the nation, today is more about the Super Bowl commercial than the actual game.

Today is the big day! Which one will come out on top as the best? Which one will flop? No, I am not talking about the 49ers or the Ravens I am talking about all of the commercials that debut this afternoon.

While today is a big day for football fans, there are some that are even trying to petition to make Super Bowl Sunday a national holiday, not everyone will watch the game today for the sport. Many sit to watch the commercials and then take a break to get more food and stretch when the game comes back on.

So for those that come for the commercials, here are a couple of Allstate Mayhem football commercials and one Allstate Super Bowl commercial from 2011 to tide you over until this afternoon.

Allstate Mayhem 2011 Super Bowl Commercial

Mayhem brings his much expected car insurance problems to us, this time as snow.

Allstate Mayhem Flies High as a Team Flag

With how hard he hit the car windshield behind him, it made me hurt; it makes you wonder if he does his own stunts.

Allstate’s Mayhem Leads a Lost Team

Are you hoping the lost team this year will be the Ravens or the 49ers? As a Seahawks fan, but a San Francisco native I may have to sit this Super Bowl out.

Streaking with Allstate’s Mayhem

It just wouldn’t be a Super Bowl to talk about without someone streaking, landing, or general disrupting the game for their 15 minutes of fame.

Keep your eyes open today for any new Super Bowl commercials for other car insurance companies this year and let us know what you find after the game.

Car insurance coverages with Progressive, Santa and Flo.

Progressive Santa Commercial

Commercial starts with the doors to the Progressive store opening and Flo is greeting an elderly gentleman that looks like Santa Claus.

Flo: Welcome to Progressive.com

Gentleman: Yes, I need some insurance for my sle…um….vehicle.

Flo: Great! We insure all sorts of “um” vehicles. You also get concierge claims service, 24/7 live support, and pet injury coverage.

Flo looks down at the dog that the gentleman has on a leash.

Flo: Ah, are those real antlers?

Gentleman: Ho, Ho, Ho, Ho. I mean…um….hahaha

The gentleman is a little embarrassed and turns to walk away.

Flo (to the gentleman): I like cashmere socks.

Screen changes to white with the Progressive sign, 1-800-PROGRESSIVE, and PROGRESSIVE.COM.

Announcer: Cover you and your loved ones – now that’s progressive. Call or click today.

Point of the Progressive Santa Commercial

This Progressive Santa commercial was a cute way for Progressive to tell people about the extras that come with their car insurance packages (concierge claims service, 24/7 live support, and pet injury coverage). Having Santa with a pet reindeer dog was a good tie-in for the pet injury protection.

What Progressive Wants You to Do

Progressive wants you to get into the holiday spirit with this commercial, as well as question if your insurance company offers you these same “extra coverages” with your insurance policy as Progressive does. With tying it in with Santa and being at Christmas, people link the generosity of the season with Progressive, and it makes them think that Progressive is being generous by offering all these extras.

My Thoughts on this Progressive Santa Commercial

Okay, I did promise no analysis this month, and I am keeping with that promise. However, I do have to point something out. With Santa letting it almost slip that he needed insurance for his sled it got me thinking about Santa actually being able to insure his sled. Yeah, I know, I am probably the only one in the nation that actually took the time to think about Santa getting insurance.

But, if Santa would have actually tried to get car insurance on his sled Progressive would have probably laughed Santa off the phone. Santa’s sled is not coverable under car insurance because it is not a motorized vehicle. Damage caused to or by Santa’s sled would be covered under his homeowner’s insurance policy, instead.

Honestly though, if Santa can visit every child in the world and fit all their toys in that sack of his, he would probably be more effective in getting an insurance claim taken care of than an insurance company claims department.

Watch Out Falling Mayhem Trees From Allstate!

Commercial

Commercial opens with a family walking through a Christmas tree lot. The little girl that is leading the way is excited and is the one that finds the “perfect tree”, which just happens to be Mayhem.

Little Girl: That one daddy! It’s beautiful.

The whole family gathers to admire the Mayhem tree who is standing there smirking.

Mayhem: I’m the world’s greatest Douglas fir. I’m the perfect shape. I’m the perfect color. My scent? Like making love to lumberjack.

They gather up Mayhem, put him in a tree net and attach him to the roof of the family’s vehicle.

Mayhem: I’ve got about 20 minutes before big Don Olson here shoves me in a stand and covers me in tinsel.

Commercial shows family singing Christmas carols in their vehicle as they are driving home.

Mayhem: But halfway home my twine gives loose and that makes me – your problem.

The family’s vehicle goes around the corner and Mayhem rolls off of the roof and on to the street.

Mayhem: And if you have cut-rate insurance you may not be covered for this.

Mayhem rolls across the street and into the path of an oncoming car that swerves out of the way to miss him, and end up smashing into a snow bank.

Mayhem: So get Allstate where you can save money and be better protected from Mayhem, like me.

Commercial ends with family still singing and completely oblivious that they no longer have a tree. Mayhem takes the net off of him and walks down the street.

Point of This Allstate Commercial

Just like with all of the other Allstate Mayhem commercials, Allstate is just making the point that anything can happen at any time. And they are saying that any of these events that cause “mayhem” in your life may not be covered if you purchased car insurance that promised you a low premium, but doesn’t have good coverage.

In other words, Allstate may be expensive, but they will make sure you have insurance coverage for almost anything.

What Allstate Wants You to Do

Allstate wants you to question what your cheaper insurance coverage is really protecting you from. They also want you to laugh because it creates positive feelings and you will relate those positive feelings with Allstate next time you look for insurance.

Laughter is a powerful, psychological selling tool.

My Opinion

I am refraining from offering my opinion this month. The commercials I picked out for the holiday season are more for your entertainment than for me to analyze.

I hope you enjoyed this little bit of Christmas Mayhem entertainment.