Life insurance advertising in AUNZ has always been woeful. Awkward attempts at reality and stilted testimonials. Here’s proof that it can be brilliant instead. Special and Partners Life have brought back to life characters from popular TV show, The Brokenwood Mysteries. Inside the show itself.
Over the past six weeks, Partners Life ads have aired at the end of each episode of The Brokenwood Mysteries, using the characters and plot lines to integrate the storyline into the ads. Following episode one, for example, before the credits rolled, the corpse of Janis, the first murder victim of the series (played by Kiwi actress Meryl Main). She looks down at the camera and says, “Well this is unexpected…what are my boys going to do without their mummy now, sorry lads there’s no life insurance policy.”
The ad spot ends by encouraging viewers to “plan ahead and get life right” with Partners Life. Throughout the series, similar tongue-in-cheek ads from Partner’s Life aired, with a film created to play at the end of each episode in the six-part series.
Special’s challenge was to break through New Zealand’s indifference to the idea of life insurance. To create a new awareness and consideration for the importance of life insurance; to jolt New Zealanders out of apathy and into action.
Naomi Ballantyne, managing director at Partners Life says the creative and humorous approach to an often overlooked and sometimes morbid topic like life insurance is just what is needed to grab Kiwis’ attention. “New Zealand is, unfortunately, one of the most under-insured countries in the world. We want to change that and help Kiwis to understand just how important life insurance is. We know there’s a lot of apathy when it comes to insurance, so were eager to ensure this campaign was one that stuck with audiences.
“The Last Performance is a disruptive and convention challenging campaign, using humour and integration to disrupt standard advertising in the insurance industry and encourage viewers to engage with the content.”
Lisa Fedyszyn, executive creative director at Special New Zealand, added, “Partners Life is always challenging industry norms and taking an innovative approach to everything they do – And their approach to advertising is no different. This is an idea that died and came back to life, about characters who die and come back to life, but it was important to find the right series to partner with. The team at South Pacific Pictures were so collaborative and inviting, and we appreciate the opportunity to jump on the back of this extremely popular show, to help New Zealanders see the importance of living with foresight rather than hindsight.”
Credits:
Client: Partners Life
Chief Executive Officer: Naomi Ballantyne
Chief Commercial Officer: Tony Arthur
Chief Marketing Officer: Kris Ballantyne
General Manager, Marketing: Tina Morgan
Sponsorships Manager: Mika Ballantyne
Marketing Specialist: Gerhard van Graan
Brand Co-ordinator: Sophie Broom
Creative Agency: Special Group New Zealand
Chief Creative Officer: Tony Bradbourne
Executive Creative Director: Lisa Fedyszyn
Executive Creative Director: Jonathan McMahon
Copywriter Jack Gravatt
Art Director: Till Dittmers
Executive Producer: Sally Lankshear
Senior Producer: Casey King
Group Business Director: Hugo Parcell
Business Director: Hannah Ross
Chief Strategy Officer: Rory Gallery
Group Strategy Director: Nick Salter
Media Director: Briar Rowsell
Head of PR & Influence: Kelly Grindle
Production Company: South Pacific Pictures
Director: Mike Smith
Post Production: Images & Sound
Music & Sound House: Images & Sound
