DDB Chicago, State Farm Show the Pros and Cons of a Locker Room ‘Pep Talk’

After retaining creative duties at the start of the year following an unofficial creative review, DDB Chicago launched a brand refresh for State Farm in June which saw the agency retire the longtime “Like a good neighbor, State Farm is there” tagline in favor of “Here to help life go right” and an emphasis on how State Farm can help its customers navigate life’s ups and downs.

With football season here, the agency teamed up with Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers and linebacker Clay Matthews III for a new, pigskin-friendly take on the same concept. 

At the beginning of the spot, Matthews give a fiery locker room pep talk which inspires the team, presumably to victory. In the next scene, Rodgers repeats lines from the speech, “Nobody comes into this house without paying the price,” while stalking a fly with a golf club. Things go considerably less well in the latter scenario, but a State Farm representative arrives to help out.

While we remain unconvinced that “Here to help life go right” has the staying power of “Like a good neighbor, State Farm is there,” the new spot shows the flexibility and potential inherent in the approach.

The juxtaposition of the same words applied to different scenarios, yielding disastrous results when wrongfully applied, makes for some nice comedic framing that helps demonstrate the benefits of combining home and auto coverage with State Farm.

Matthews asking “Well, did you get it?” with a mouth full of sandwich is a nice touch.

Credits:
Advertising Agency: DDB Chicago
Creative Directors/Art Directors/Copywriters: Brian Boord, Chad Broude
Group Creative Director: Mel Routhier
Producer: Scott Kemper

DDB Chicago Goes Right Again with State Farm’s New Tagline

After retaining lead duties on the account for a brand revival in January following an unofficial creative review, DDB Chicago launched a campaign for State Farm earlier this month introducing the new tagline “Here to help life go right.”

After putting “Like a good neighbor, State Farm is there”–which was a staple for the brand for over 40 years–into semi-retirement, the agency has launched a pair of follow-up spots reiterating the message.

Both ads play up the similarities in very positive and negative situations, showing how the brand can help you prepare for both the best and worst of outcomes. “Furniture,” for example, shows two women fawning over a blue suede couch one of them just purchased. “This piece is so you,” one of them says, smiling, to a response of “I know, right? I saw it and I was just like, ‘I have to have it,’” delivered while holding up the State Farm rewards credit card.

The scene is contrasted with a pair of robbers having a remarkably similar conversation while stealing the very same couch.

The spot uses the comparison to promote both the rewards card and renters insurance, an illustration of how the brand is “Here to help life go right” in multiple ways.

A definite improvement on the “boy daydreams about the future of an insurance company in a utopian future” premise of the anthem ad launching the campaign, the spot manages to illustrate the tagline more convincingly. While the repetition in dialogue works towards that end, it does become a bit grating upon repeated viewings.

“Jacked Up” relies on that most enduring of advertising cliches: parents gifting a new driver with an expensive new car. Still, it does hammer home the tagline with an illustration of the aforementioned rewards card and insurance, contrasting the new driver’s elation with the exasperation of a man whose tires get jacked (hence the punning title).

DDB Chicago Brings Back Coneheads for State Farm

About a month ago, DDB Chicago released a re-make of State Farm’s 2011 ad “State of Unrest” (more commonly known as “Jake From State Farm”) reimagined with Dan Aykroyd and Jane Curtin reprising their Conehead roles as Beldar and Prymaat. Now, the agency has released the Coneheads followup, entitled “France.”

Behind-the-scenes footage from the last spot hinted at the direction of “France,” which opens on the Coneheads, whose microwave has just broke. Using the magic jingle, they summon a State Farm representative, not realizing that they’re revealing that they are alines, and not, in fact, from France. In an effort to reverse his mistake, they use the jingle once more to transport everyone to France, with the ad ending with tagline, “Save Mass Quantities.” It’s not the most imaginative of scenarios, but Coneheads fans should enjoy seeing Aykroyd and Curtin reprising their roles once again nevertheless. The ad debuted online and during the CBS broadcast of NCIS: Los Angeles. It will be interesting to see if DDB Chicago sticks with the Coneheads for more ads or switches to other retired SNL characters (which State Farm can do thanks to a deal between the company and Lorne Michaels‘ Broadway Video Entertainment).

DDB Chicago Gets Coneheads for ‘Jake From Planet State Farm’

DDB Chicago revives the popular 2011 “State of Unrest” ad (more commonly referenced as “Jake From State Farm”) with Dan Aykroyd and Jane Curtin reprising their Conehead roles as Beldar and Prymaat for a new spin on the ad.

The new ad presents essentially the same scenario as the original, except with the Conehead characters and resulting alien speak. Differences between the Coneheads and the original characters result in a much different ending to the spot, however. While the mash up may seem a bit odd, and some may wonder whether the Vine-loving crowd that turned the original “State of Unrest” spot into an internet phenomenon will appreciate the Coneheads, the timing is certainly appropriate with Saturday Night Live recently celebrating its fortieth anniversary. It also follows spots for the brand reprising SNL characters Richmeister and Hans and Frans, resulting from a deal between State Farm and Lorne Michaels‘ Broadway Video Entertainment. According to Adweek, a second Coneheads spot for State Farm is expected in June and a “Behind the Scenes” video (featured below) seems to offer some clues as to what viewers can expect.

State Farm Just Remade the 'Jake From State Farm' Ad Completely With Emojis

State Farm probably still can’t believe how popular the “Jake From State Farm” commercial has become. It became a cult favorite almost overnight and has been parodied relentlessly on Vine and elsewhere. Recognizing the love for all things Jake, the insurance company even gave him a Twitter account, which now has more than 33,000 followers.

The ad—technically called “State of Unrest (Jake)”—continues to air, and by now many people know the dialogue by heart. The dialogue is so familiar, in fact, that most people (and certainly the brand’s social-media followers) can likely follow along with the remade version below, posted to Facebook today—with the narrative told totally in emojis.

Random Friday fun, and a great quick hit from the advertiser.

Adweek responsive video player used on /video.

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State Farm Offices Sure Are Weird With the Teleporting Agents Constantly Vanishing

State Farm has been running the “Magic Jingle” advertising campaign for a while, in which customers are able to summon their agents out of thin air in times of crisis by singing the famous jingle: “Like a good neighbor, State Farm is there.”

What’s been left unspoken—until now—is how weird the scene must be back in the State Farm offices, with agents constantly disappearing while chatting with colleagues.

This new spot from Translation looks at the campaign from the latter angle, comically checking in on disappearing agents in State Farm offices across the country. The spot was directed by Roman Coppola, with longtime David Fincher cinematographer Jeff Cronenweth handling DP duties.

“There really are endless jokes to make and directions to explore with the concept of teleportation,” Translation creative director Nick Sonderup tells AdFreak.

“We knew the spot worked because there were just so many ways to execute it. On the surface, the idea that a State Farm agent will be there no matter when you need them is only one part of the story. When you consider what those agents might be in the middle of when you sing the jingle, and they’re summoned to your side—that’s when it clicked and we knew things could get really fun.”

“It’s also a response to the way the ‘Magic Jingle’ campaign has become part of culture,” adds Patty Morris, State Farm marketing director of brand content. (Indeed, just look at all the “Magic Jingle” parodies on Vine.)

“We’ve seen so many terrific user-generated parodies and creative ways of approaching the idea. We took the opportunity to re-think it ourselves, and the result was a completely fresh piece of creative that stays true to our original strategy.”

CREDITS
Brand/Client: State Farm
Campaign Title: State Farm Magic Jingle
Spot Title: “Magic Jingle Disappearing Agents”
First Air Date: 1/10/15

Agency: Translation   
Founder & CEO: Steve Stoute
Chief Creative Officer: John Norman
Creative Director: Nick Sonderup
Creative Director: Andy Grant
Art Director: Allison Bulow
Copywriter: Jameson Rossi
Partner, Strategy: John McBride
Director of Content Production: Miriam Franklin
Director of Business Management: Thalia Tsouros
VP Account Director: Susanna Swartley
Account Supervisor: Sara Daino
Assistant Account Executive: Jake Thorndike
Producer: Andy Murillo
Junior Producer: Kristen Cooler

Production: The Directors Bureau
Director: Roman Coppola
DP: Jeff Cronenweth
Managing Director/Executive Producer: Lisa Margulis
Executive Producer/Head of Production: Elizabeth Minzes
Producer: Mary Livingston

Editorial Company: Rock Paper Scissors NY
Editor: Carlos Arias
Assistant Editor: Alexandra Debricon
Post Executive Producer:  Eve Kornblum
Post Producer: Lisa Barnable

VFX Company:  The Mill
VFX Artist: Gavin Wellsman, Jeff Butler
VFX Executive Producer: Boo Wong
VFX Producer: Colin Moneymaker

Audio Post: Heard City
Mixer: Keith Reynaud, Mike Vitacco
Executive Producer: Gloria Pitagorsky
Producer: Sasha Awn

Sound Design: Henryboy
Sound Designer: Bill Chesley
Executive Producer: Kate Gibson

Original Music: Beacon Street
Composers:  Andrew Feltenstein and John Nau
Executive Producers: Adrea Lavezzoli and Leslie Dilullo

Media: OMD

State Farm Marketing Director, Brand Content: Patty Morris
State Farm Advertising Manager: Troy Johnson
State Farm Marketing Analyst, Mass Media Brand Content: Christine Williams
State Farm Marketing Analyst, Mass Media Brand Content: Jeff Greeneberg



Duck Dynasty Stars Teach You How Not to Blow Up Your House With a Turkey

Thinking of frying a turkey this holiday season? Hang on a minute, and listen to what Si and Jase have to say.

State Farm has partnered with the popular stars from Duck Dynasty to caution turkey fryers everywhere to think before they fry. All the important tips are there, along with some country color, a delightfully slow delivery and the hashtag #hangonaminute.

Turkey-related mishaps must be a serious problem for State Farm. Two years ago, they commissioned William Shatner to overact a beautiful four-minute drama about the dangers of open flame, oil, and frozen bird flesh. So be sure to defrost that bird, turn off the gas when you slide her in, and we’ll all stay happy, happy, happy.


    

Zoinks! State Farm Saves Scooby-Doo and the Gang in Groovy Animated Spot


    

State Farm’s Chaos Robot Now Stomps Right Up to Your Smartphone

State Farm's neighborhood-destroying alien robot is back after a successful run in 2011's "Chaos in Your Town" campaign from DDB, and this time it's coming right for you.

Using the GPS in your smartphone, a new iAd from State Farm lets you create a custom video of the robot stomping around your current location. As you can see in the video below, the resulting Chaos clip uses Google Streetview images instead of real-time augmented reality, so it's not quite as dramatic as it theoretically could be. But for something that's created through an ad rather than an app, it's a pretty impressive demonstration of what mobile ads are capable of these days. 

It's no surprise the insurer is bringing back "Chaos in Your Town," which racked up some pretty impressive numbers in terms of consumer engagement. After the jump, check out the interactive campaign's key stats provided by DDB.

In the first 10 weeks of the 2011 "Chaos in Your Town" effort, with a digital media spend around $700,000, the campaign:
• Garnered more than 900 blog mentions
• Saw more than 1 million user-generated films created
• Resulted in more than 200 million user-generated impressions
 
In the following 20 months, without any paid media support, the campaign went on to generate:
• More than 6 million additional user-generated videos, bringing the total to about 7 million films 
• More than 800 million user-generated impressions

You can still make a State of Chaos video for yourself on the campaign microsite.

Chaos in Your Town Mobile iAd Credits:

Agency: DDB, Chicago
Chief Creative Officer: Ewan Patterson
Executive Creative Director: Joe Cianciotto
Group Creative Directors: Barry Burdiak, John Hayes
Creative Directors: Bob Davies, Matt Christiansen
Art Director: Megan Sheehan
Copywriter: Melissa McCarthy
Director of Digital Production: Paul Sundue
Executive Producer, Digital: Carly Ferguson
Executive Producer: Scott Kemper
Account Director: Gladys Jeffrey
Account Supervisor: Heidi Frank

Production Company: B-Reel