For those who weren’t around for it, the first few minutes of 2000 were really scary. Throughout the late ’90s, doomsday prophets had been warning that computer programs the world over would go haywire at the stroke of midnight, as most time coding assumed that “19” preceded the year. Times Square would go dark. Planes would crash. Nuclear missiles would launch. The millennium bug, as it was known, meant trouble.
But at the headquarters for Aflac in Columbus, Ga., CEO Dan Amos had another reason to be nervous. He’d just spent $1 million of the company’s money on a new ad campaign set to debut on CNN shortly after midnight. New York-based Kaplan Thaler Group had proposed an unusual idea. Amos loved it, but selling it had been another matter.
As Amos wrote in the Harvard Business Review, “When I tried explaining to people what we were thinking about, no one got it. ‘Well, there’s this duck,’ I’d say. ‘And he quacks “Aflac.”’ The response was always the same: a silent stare. So I stopped telling people. I didn’t even tell our board.”
But in the minutes after midnight, not only did the world not end, but CNN had virtually no other buyers for that advertising block. And so the duck spot ran. Over and over and over again. Within hours, traffic to Aflac’s site surged. By the end of 2000, its business had risen by 27%.
To this day, chief brand and marketing officer Shannon Watkins credits that night—and that duck—for building Aflac into the largest provider of supplemental insurance in the United States. “After that [spot], our awareness rocketed,” she told Adweek. “The company knew the Aflac Duck was absolutely an effective marketing tool.”
Which is only a statement of fact. Thanks to the more than 75 spots that the duck has starred in over the last two decades, 90% of American consumers recognize the Aflac Duck on sight alone—no small feat, considering that unlike brand mascots that wear costumes or recite slogans, this is a plain-old white duck whose entire vocabulary consists of one word: Aflac.
It was the strangeness of that name that gave rise to the duck in the first place. The American Family Life Assurance Company got its start in 1955 and soldiered on with that name until 1989 when it adopted the acronym of Aflac. The trouble was that Aflac isn’t a word. Indeed, its closest phonic relative is “quack quack”—or so reasoned the Kaplan Thaler folks.
The role of the duck has changed over the years. Originally planned to just familiarize people with the company name, the star fowl these days assumes more of what Watkins calls a “helpmate” role, pointing out the benefits of supplemental coverage.
Of course, the duck’s familiarity has always been his strong suit. “Our Aflac Duck has evolved,” she said, but still, “he doesn’t say anything but ‘Aflac.’”
There’s a duck on the road
Because many brand mascots can be played by some guy in a foam suit, it’s pretty easy for them to travel as needed. You might think that wouldn’t apply to a real-life duck, but you’d be wrong. The Aflac Duck is, in fact, a traveling duck.
“We take him to live events,” confirmed Watkins, adding that much of the duck’s effectiveness as a mascot rests with people being able to “imagine the feathers—and the feeling of petting him.” In fact, attendees at events like college football games the duck favors do get to pet him. (Aflac’s communications folks hastened to add that the duck doesn’t bite, and “duck trainers” are on hand at all times.) “He brings comfort and joy,” Watkins said.
Waddling for the win
After making a splash with the “Park Bench” spot in 2000 (1), the duck has gone on to star in more than 75 ads, often appearing in hospitals (2) to remind Americans of the importance of supplemental insurance. CEO Dan Amos (3) gambled $1 million on the duck idea, but it paid off. The duck’s appeared widely in recent years, appearing in the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade (4) and popping up with celebs including football greats Nick Saban and Deion Sanders (5).
This story first appeared in the Sept. 27, 2021, issue of Adweek magazine. Click here to subscribe.
