When Selling Insurance Isn’t Enough
As we’ve learned from better science fiction, our creations sometimes surpass their original parameters. Sometimes they run amok (2001), sometimes they kill everyone everywhere (”Battlestar Galactica,” The Matrix), and sometimes they turn into charming naïfs (Data from Star Trek). Another unusual example can currently be seen during commercial breaks on American television.
Esurance, an online insurance company, created a spokeswoman for their ads in the form of “Erin Esurance:” a Flash-animated, pink-haired hottie who fights evil, global warming and excessive paper use while pitching the easy-to-use online features of her parent company. The “Erin” campaign is not an ad agency concoction: she was created in-house by the Bay Area insurance firm. This is evident by the fluid, line-less, colorful “CalArts” style of animation used in the ads, and in the fact the character is sort of loosely bonded to the company’s message (ad agency creations are strongly focus-tested and rarely exceed the message, the Geico Cavemen being the exception).
Probably because of her strong image branding and the character’s unintentional stand-alone qualities, she’s turned up in some unusual places:
• The first post-strike new episode of “My Name Is Earl” was introduced by none other than Jeff Zucker, the president of NBC/Universal. Big props to his performance: one of the funniest parts of the episode. At one point, Mr. Zucker was demonstrating how one can watch episodes of “Earl” online– after you see an ad, of course. The ad featured Erin Esurance doing her sexy black-suited action thing, which prompted the president of NBC to say: “I once dated a girl with pink hair. (under his breath) Craaa-zy!”
• Another first for Erin: a movie tie-in. She is featured in ad cross-promoting the upcoming summer action/fantasy film Speed Racer. In the ad, she sits in the front row of a darkened movie auditorium, laughing, gasping, enjoying the film. Very engaging.
Her appealing juxtaposition led me to think this whole situation is exactly backwards. What sounds more compelling to you: Yet another CG-heavy film based on some half-forgotten but easily branded kiddie product, or a movie featuring Erin? This ad really sold me– not on the Speed Racer movie, or Esurance, but Erin’s viability as a movie star. (Well, as long as she doesn’t actually pitch insurance during the movie, that is.)
Time to get a new agent, Erin!
–Skot C.