I'm more than familiar with over-the-top insurance campaigns stateside. But the GEICO gecko and Flo from Progressive never felt like interesting characters to me, even if the individual commercials were funny (well, for the former anyway).
So I watched a bunch of Compare the Meerkat ads online, as we don't get them in the US. The premise is chuckleworthy (it's identical to the first GEICO gecko ad), but I actually liked the characters as characters. There's an actual story here besides selling insurance, though they still drill the company name into your head. You can take them out of the context of selling insurance and they're still endearing. Aleksandr and Sergei and their pups have some really sweet times together. Their co-parenting warmed my heart. I guess that's why they successfully sell merch and books based on the meerkats.
Yes, I know I'm being manipulated with the cuteness to use their website, so the cuteness is a little cheap, but hey, if it works, it works.
The only criticism I have is that I don't always love the animation. Their characteristics and movement are cute, but their character designs look kinda crusty at times, especially compared to real-life meerkats, though later ads have improved upon that.
Oh, and they should let Aleksandr and Sergei be openly gay. Come on, we can all see it!
Advertising Beyond simples
I'm more than familiar with over-the-top insurance campaigns stateside. But the GEICO gecko and Flo from Progressive never felt like interesting characters to me, even if the individual commercials were funny (well, for the former anyway).
So I watched a bunch of Compare the Meerkat ads online, as we don't get them in the US. The premise is chuckleworthy (it's identical to the first GEICO gecko ad), but I actually liked the characters as characters. There's an actual story here besides selling insurance, though they still drill the company name into your head. You can take them out of the context of selling insurance and they're still endearing. Aleksandr and Sergei and their pups have some really sweet times together. Their co-parenting warmed my heart. I guess that's why they successfully sell merch and books based on the meerkats.
Yes, I know I'm being manipulated with the cuteness to use their website, so the cuteness is a little cheap, but hey, if it works, it works.
The only criticism I have is that I don't always love the animation. Their characteristics and movement are cute, but their character designs look kinda crusty at times, especially compared to real-life meerkats, though later ads have improved upon that.
Oh, and they should let Aleksandr and Sergei be openly gay. Come on, we can all see it!