Young generations make fun of their parents. They don’t aspire to becoming like them. Arnold Worldwide recognised that this was an opportunity for Progressive Insurance to make its name and its service stand out.
Last year, Arnold and Progressive Insurance introduced Parenta-Life Coach, Dr. Rick., who teaches young home-owners how not to succumb to the affliction, Parentamorphosis – how not to become their parents. The very funny idea continues this year with new spot, Letting Go, in which Dr. Rick teaches people to get rid of junk rather than storing. The spot ends with the advice, “Progressive can’t save you from becoming your parents, but we can save you money when you bundle home & auto with us.”
“Despite the fact that Dr. Rick is a fake doctor, and that Parentamorphesis is a fake affliction, the key to this campaign is and always has been capturing the truth,” stated Sean McBride, chief creative officer of Arnold. “A good one should make a viewer go ‘haha, my mom does that,’ or worse, ‘uh oh, I totally do that.’ So it’s a delicate dance between dreaming up characters that are totally new and pretty absurd, and reflecting back real life as honestly as possible. For me, this latest instalment captures that balance perfectly. In fact I’ve got a pile of ‘perfectly good’ scraps of wood gathering dust in the basement right now. I’ll never use it. But what am I supposed to do, just throw it away?”
The new commercial went to air on January 1, joining Chance Encounter, starring LL COOL J, which premiered during the A GRAMMY Salute to 50 Years of Hip Hop show in December.
Each commercial ends with an invitation to watch others in the series – a clever way to underline the idea that the films are entertainment as well as making sure the campaign works hard at its job.
Here is the commercial that began the campaign:
Credits
Client: Progressive Insurance
Creative Agency: Arnold Worldwide
Chief Creative Officer: Sean McBride
Creative Directors: Gregg Nelson & Mike Sullivan
Associate Creative Directors: Sarah Shellaberger & Dylan Meagher
Broadcast Producers: Sean Vernaglia & Maria Torres
Chief Client Officer: Val Bettini
Marketing Managers: Alex Mcsweeney & Crissy Cavallaro
Project Manager: Samantha Trythall
Business Affairs Manager: Camara Price
Production Company: Moxie Pictures
Director Martin Granger
Line Producer: Heidi Soltesz
Director Of Photography: Malik Sayeed
Post Production & VFX: Zero VFX
Grade: The Color Refinery
Colourist: Rob Bessette
Editing: Cosmo Street
Editor: Aaron Langley
Music & Sound: Soundtrack Group
Sound Designer: Mike Secher
Music: JSM Music
