Centraal Beheer’s humorous Just Call Us campaign is the Netherlands’ best-loved and one of its longest-running ad series. It began in 1985. And it just keeps getting better.
For its 61st iteration, Amsterdam’s DDB Unlimited, tells the story of a petty thief with too much swagger who misses a crucial shot, the film’s charm underscored by the hit, Bad To The Bone, by George Thorogood.
The campaign series has become legendary in the Netherlands and beyond for its high production values and wit, portraying humorously unexpected and unfortunate situations in a feature movie style. It aims to prove that whatever disaster occurs, and what help is needed, customers only have to call insurance company, Centraal Beheer.
The commercials have featured demonic cuckoo clocks, runaway speedboats, and now for 2021 a badly timed mis-throw from an ex-convict. No matter the crisis, the punchline is the same, Just call us. It’s a formula that rocketed Centraal Beheer into the top three most well-known insurance companies after just two years. And it just keeps giving.
Over the past decades, campaigns featuring the Titanic, mice, soccer players, jewel thieves, UFOs, and even Bill Clinton have been awarded multiple times at the Cannes Lions Festival. The last Just call us ad was in 2017, so this is the first one for four years.
DDB Unlimited chief creative officer, Aad Kuijper, stated, “The Just call us ad series is one of the longest-running series in Dutch advertising and arguably it defines the genre. In fact, the reason why I started at DDB in the first place, all those years ago, was because I completely loved these commercials. We’re happy to continue the tradition and bring back the Netherlands’ best-loved ad line again for the first time in a few years.”
The new commercial, shot in Spain, was directed by the world-famous film and commercial director, Matthijs van Heijningen Jr, who directed award-winning commercials for Kia (Hero’s Journey featuring Melissa McCarthy), Peugeot (The Sculptor), and Canal Plus (The Bear).
Credits:
Creative Agency: DDB Unlimited Amsterdam
Director: Matthijs Van Heijningen Jr.
Production Company: Bonkers United
Client: Centraal Beheer
Client Team: Peggy Spaapen–Du Long & Veronique De Bos
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