GMF has been leading insurer of public sector workers in France for 80 years.

Its ads have always been “safe”.

But being risk averse has not been good to GMF in recent years. Its voice has been drowned out in a market where he who scream loudest (funniest and most outrageously) wins. Or as its agency, TBWA\Paris puts it, “It’s easier to lure potential customers by sweetening the pot, rather than getting bogged down by the details.”

GMF has now done a total about-face.

The brand is now making a very clear statement about who it is, the leading insurer of public sector workers, allowing TBWA to underline GMF’s people-first integrity in a more compelling manner.

The new campaign takes a leader’s stance – it champions acts of goodness – and shows its audience how much society needs the human touch and, most importantly, how it needs people who help make it run like clockwork at a time when everything around us is becoming more unstable and losing integrity. It’s a no-nonsense campaign that aims for the heartstrings and identifies GMF as a company whose good behaviour you can trust.

When you’re thinking about which insurer to choose, you want the one you can trust to behave well when things go wrong for you, don’t you?

To ensure the ad’s authenticity, TBWA opted for real-life casting calls, putting characters you don’t typically see in ads in front of the camera – actual public service workers, realistic direction/sets/scenes, and true-to-life film techniques.

The campaign launches with the We Stand For Those Who video, a statement of the brand’s stance on endorsing a value system that’s aspirational to all, but especially meaningful for the public service workers (GMF’s market) who dedicate their lives to serving others.

TBWA\PARIS and GMF worked with director, Frédéric Planchon, on this launch video to spotlight all the little things we do every day that become even more powerful when done with selflessness and compassion.

A print campaign shot by photographer, Damien de Blinkk, will run in tandem with the launch video. A series of four visuals was produced to highlight some of the public sector’s most iconic professions: public hospital workers, firefighters, teachers and the military.

A second wave of three commercials, directed by Truman & Cooper,  will start in June and focus on GMF’s pledge to protect every public service worker individually. These 25 second spots will showthe public how GMF designs products based on the job-related needs of public service.

Behind the marketing campaign is a reinvigorated trade, editorial, sales, network, operational marketing and digital media communications program, in which TBWA\PARIS and GMF feature real public service workers to outline the brand’s consumer plans and coverage. Yann Rabanier produced this series of 30 portraits.

The full campaign spans TV, film, online video, news media, magazine and trade press.

Credits

Agency: TBWA\PARIS

Executive creative directors:   Faustin Claverie, Benjamin Marchal

Creative director : Marianne Fonferrier

Copywriter: Fabien Duval

Art buyer: Barbara Chevallier

CEO \Else: Maxime Boiron

TV producer:   Benoit Duchemin

Post-production: Elise Gamboa

Sound production: \Else

Head of music and sound: Olivier Lefèvre

Music directors: Thomas Anduze and Philippe Mineur

Music: God Yu Tekkem Laef Blong Mi

Written and produced by Hans Zimmer

Agency account managers: Anne Vincent, Stéphanie Decombe, Maëva Jordan & Martin Rainaut

Brand Film

Production company: Iconoclast

Director:  Frédéric Planchon

Producer: Charlotte Marmion

Director of Production: François Lamotte

Cinematographer: Arnaud Potier

Client: Alexandra Bertolino, Marie Saint-Marc, Sophie de Montalembert, Emmanuel Broche