In These Charmingly Creepy Halloween Ads, the Undead Want to Talk to You About Life Insurance

Life insurance is a serious topic that usually includes suitably sober advertising. Indeed, keeping your loved ones taken care of is important, but marketing's approach to sparking a conversation on the topic is often too solemn to get past our mental barriers of denial when it comes to our own mortality. Farmers Insurance, working with agency RPA and taking advantage of the Halloween season, found that a different direction might break through the sea of life insurance advertising sameness with three new ads featuring unusual spokespeople: the undead. In “Cardio of the Dead,” a zombie makes her way down a running path at a park (yes, she’s spooking out other runners) and talks about how the inevitability of death and what could happen after “your mortal race is run.” [kickout id="1"] “Van Hiking” is a nod to Dracula as the character mentions how he has “found Halloween to be rather macabre,” but also a pretty decent time to talk about life insurance—as he resists the temptation of sucking the blood of some nearby campers. [kickout id="2"] Finally, a yoga-loving mummy’s poses are filled with well-placed creaks and cracks as she discusses the fact that there is “no right time to discuss death” and that you could “make Halloween the time you finally consider your life insurance options.” The spot gets bonus points for the witty payoff line of “corpse pose” as she lays on her back. [kickout id="3"] Each of the ads leans well on the folksy line of “they know a thing or two because they've seen a thing or two,” famously elevated by actor JK Simmons in other work for the brand. Though the ads don’t necessarily veer into hearty guffaw territory, they most certainly take advantage of the season and offer a refreshingly clever way to get viewers thinking about life insurance. CREDITS: Client: Farmers Insurance Agency: RPA EVP/Chief Creative Officer: Joe Baratelli SVP/Executive Creative Director: Pat Mendelson VP/Creative Director: Hobart Birmingham VP/Creative Director: Perrin Anderson Art Director: Rik Patenaude Junior Copywriter: Scott Ellman EVP/Chief Production Officer: Gary Paticoff VP/Director of Video Production: Selena Pizarro Producer: Lorraine Schreyer Production Coordinator: Madi Miller Program Manager: Dawn Burdue Senior Digital Producer: Alex Clewell Associate Digital Producer: Matt Valdepena VP/Director of Business Affairs: Maria Del Homme Associate Director of Business Affairs: Grace Gambin Senior Business Affairs Manager: Marlys Pulos EVP/Chief Client Officer: Tom Kirk SVP/Group Account Director: Kirt Danner SVP/Group Account Director: Lisa Tanner Management Supervisor: Adrienne Feldman Account Supervisor: Molly Mejia Assistant Account Executive: Kate Chulay Production Company: Yonder Director: Brian Neaman Director of Photography: Chris Westlund Executive Producer: Adam Bagger Executive Producer: Mike Repasch Producer: Ross Kelly Editorial Company: Cut + Run Editor: Sean Stender Executive Producer: Amburr Farls Producer: Brian Mulvey VFX & Finishing: Jogger Head of Production: Diana Cheng Senior Producer: Evan Cunningham Production Coordinator: Caylee Banz Flame Artist: Andy Brown Color: Company 3 Colorist: Stefan Sonnenfeld Sound Design & Final Mix: Lime Studios Executive Producer: Susie Boyajan Sound Engineer: Dave Wagg, Adam Primack

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In These Charmingly Creepy Halloween Ads, the Undead Want to Talk to You About Life Insurance

Farmers summons a zombie, mummy and vampire as its seasonal spokesmonsters

Doug Zanger

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