I find the mayhem advertisements by Allstate insurance to be highly effective with their use of combining such appeals as humor and safety. Yes it is true, I am a young adult male that actually likes an insurance company. Despite the fact that for a few more years my rates are sky high and the former belief that insurance companies are Satan's way to make a profit. My view towards Allstate was similar to many disgruntled young males who are still waiting for that four hundred dollar check to repair their rear bumper that got tagged six months ago by a cranky soccer mom. One faithful Saturday afternoon my perspective got much clearer, I found myself laughing hysterically at an insurance ad! It wasn't some played out computer animated gecko or duck, rather a real human being acting out a real situation where insurance could actually come in handy.
"I'm a teenage girl. My bff just text me saying she kissed Johnny, thats a problem because I like Johnny." This is the opening line of the advertisement played by a white male in his late 20's to mid 30's driving a "Barbie" pink SUV posing as a teenage girl. He (or she, however you wish to view the scenario) is driving the SUV in a packed parking lot. After reading the text (while driving) he becomes emotionally incompetent and crashes into a parked car and without flinching continues driving while talking about the other girl kissing Johnny. The ad ends by the character telling the consumer to get Allstate so we can be protected from mayhem "like me."
This ad had a powerful affect on me as a consumer. The ad was particularly effective portraying a real life scenario where insurance could come in handy. Instead of focusing on an outrageous disaster occurring such as a hurricane,tornado, or something of that nature, the Allstate ad focuses on a much more common occurrence. It is widely believed teenage girls are not the safest of drivers on the road. For a multiple of reasons, for one they lack driving experience, another could be the persona that they are easily distracted, or how about the notion that they are social "jitterbugs" that text while driving. Whatever the cliche you wish to imply, the advertisement is highly effective with its use of identification with the consumer. The ad persuades the consumer by telling us, we at Allstate understand your frustration with everyday hazards, in fact, they actually take it a step further.
The mayhem advertisement by Allstate uses a combination of appeals to grab our attention. The first appeal used is safety. This appeal implies such themes as protection and security. These characteristics are crucial in advertising. The appeal of safety directly relates to one of our core necessities in life. Along side food and water, health and security is among our basic needs of survival. In the mayhem ad, Allstate tells the consumer that they understand your frustration with daily hazards and they are here to protect you from them, giving us, the consumer one less thing to worry about. Whether "mayhem" is a teenage girl driving while texting or multiple other scenarios the ad campaign uses, the focus is primarily providing protection from everyday hazards. I believe this approach is affective due to its common occurrences approach instead of using more serious situations such as natural disasters that have been used by other insurance companies.
What distinguishes the mayhem ad from competitors is the incorporation of humor with safety appeals. Humor is probably the most affective appeal to get a consumers attention. One could easily counter argue with sex appeal, but I must ask, do we really pay attention to the products in sex ads? Different genders and age groups all have different perspectives and priorities, but we all enjoy a good laugh. The ads that I hear my peers discuss in social gatherings typically tend to be humor based. The mayhem ad incorporates ubiquitous humor by using a grown man portraying a teenage girl. He fully submerges himself from the teenage girl perspective while keeping the tone of a serious adult male. Placing the pieces together, we now have a safety based ad with much humor by focusing on common disturbances
combination = mayhem.
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