Tuesday, July 27, 2010

"Mayhem is Coming" -- the new Allstate ads are hilarious

While I was getting my reality TV fix last night, I was exposed to the most hilarious insurance ad I've ever seen. A preface: when I started this blog all those weeks ago, I made a solemn oath to keep it about serious subjects, not whatever random crud I stumbled across on YouTube. Well, these were so funny I had to break that promise.


Usually when I think of funny ads, the immediate association is beer or deodorant commercials, not insurance. Allstate ads especially have been fairly somber, featuring a very serious Dennis Haysbert (famous for his role on "24" as a black democratic president, where he far outshone his contemporary, President Bush, in terms of crisis decision-making). Now, the tone to their ads has completely changed.

Allstate's new slogan: "Mayhem is Coming." The mayhem is personified by Dean Winters. I really can't do it justice, you'll just have to watch for yourself.
YouTube Links:
Destructive Puppy eats your Back Seat
Teenage driver smashes your New Car
The keying that wrecks your Paint Job
The random wind storm that drops a branch on your Windshield

I will now pause for a moment while you view these clips, then another moment while you regain your composure from fits of laughing. Ready? Ok, now we can continue.


Several factors I think make these commercials successful:
  • Sometimes it feels like the universe has it out to get you and destroy your property. Having that figure personified by someone easy to dislike is a very satisfying feeling.
  • Good dead-pan is hard to come by. Enough said.
  • A lot of commercials take themselves too seriously, and after seeing enough "trust us, we love your family just like our very own" insurance commercials, it's nice to see the lighter side (if such a thing even exists in the insurance business).
OK, so the analysis on this one is pretty trivial. I just wanted an excuse to rep the funniest ad theme I've ever seen. Hopefully you agree.

KS9XPW5FU2Q7

1 comment:

  1. Wall Street ties with Insurance Companies has been the forgotten and ignored piece of the financial disaster of Madoff and the 2008 Lehman Brothers failure, so this is a good new slogan for AllState to forecast the future.

    Good hands after Madoff seems foolishly naive, and Like a Good Neighbor seems foolish after outsourcing.

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