AXA Equitable "Airplane"

You know times are bad when an 800-pound gorilla in the room is more a source of comfort than of alarm. At any rate, that’s the role the big guy plays in AXA Equitable’s latest venture in gorilla marketing (via Merkley + Partners, New York). A bumpy plane ride is the commercial’s metaphor for the economy’s travails, and a female passenger is looking nervous. In this context, she seems to find it reassuring to have an 800-pound gorilla (her seat-mate) selling her on the concept of annuities as a way to protect assets in “this turbulent market.”