Arnold launched a new campaign for Progressive notable for a certain absence: longtime brand spokesperson Flo.
The character appears to be sitting out the campaign, but we’re sure you’ll be seeing more of her soon. In the interim we have a pair of 30-second spots addressing “Mommeostasis” and “Daddeostatisis.” Each spot ends with the tagline, “Progressive can’t protect you from becoming your parents, but we can protect your home and auto,” with the action leading up to the line displaying that scenario playing out with a pair of couples.
Each spot provides a humorously stereotypical example of someone turning into their parents. Only it doesn’t appear to be a gradual transition. In “Mommeostasis” a man immediately starts obsessively cleaning, wearing matronly spectacles and refusing to be declined when offering snacks upon moving into a new house. In “Daddeostasis” a woman similarly seems to be turning into her father: wearing dad socks, worrying perhaps a little too much about the electric bill and threatening to turn the car around.
The ads attempt to find humor in the truism that many people gradually turn into a version of their parents. Unlike with Flo, they avoid addressing insurance directly until a late pivot. It comes earlier with “Mommeostasis,” with the man turning into his mother comparing bundling with the “fun” of buying in bulk, but still much later than you’d expect in the more direct Flo ads.