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By Rick Stanton
If there’s one thing more rampant in the country than COVID-19, it’s stupidity.
There are any number of ways to point this out, but I’ll stick with advertising.
If there’s anything more stupid than Liberty Mutual’s current TV campaign, I’d like you to point it out.
The idea that someone in an ad agency far, far away would do a play on the first letters of Liberty Mutual and come up with the “Limu Emu” is profoundly inane to begin with.
Years ago, I visited a sort of zoo in Australia where I got to hold a koala bear, which was super sweet. Conversely, I almost lost my life to an angry emu. They are unpleasant creatures.
Full confession: That one encounter left me with a negative stereotype that I will ever remember, should I encounter another emu in the remaining years I have left.
I’m sure you’ve seen the most recent commercials Liberty Mutual is running ad nauseum, featuring Limu’s partner—a dopey human being, driving at high speed along side another car so he can offer them his business card—while screaming that he can “save them!”
Some dip wads in a creative department somewhere in America thought it was a good idea for a company selling car insurance to show its brand representatives engaged in wreck-less driving to sell . . . car insurance.
There are a lot of dumb things going on in our country today that are way more important than an insurance company’s stupid ad campaign. But dumbest of all is the client who said yes to the ad campaign in question.
Why not take it a step further and have the brand representatives ram the car they’re chasing, thus allowing for deeper dialogue than “I can save you money on your car insurance?!”
For example, while both vehicles are streaming exhaust into the environment, the Emu (of whom the two ladies already are wary) could corner them in their car and threaten to peck their eyes out—unless they buy insurance from Liberty Mutual.
Many years ago, at my 40th birthday party, a client gave me a rather large stamp and ink pad. The stamp read, “BULLSHIT.”
Those who know me best remember that I used it more than once. Drag some lame, off-brand piece of garbage into my office and, if you didn’t get out fast enough, that stamp would be on your forehead . . . as well as your concept.
There doesn’t seem to be a lot to be proud of these days as it applies to advertising creative.
I have fond memories of seeing work that came from Mike Mogelgaard, or Jim Copacino or Tracy Wong and thinking, “Damn, that’s really engaging and smart.”
Today I find myself thinking—and saying, “Damn, that’s really stupid.”
Agreed. Liberty Mutual manages to find a way for their spokesman to always shout out these banalities. One has to wonder how much these (car) insurance companies’ rates are increased by this mindless (stupid) ‘advertising’. Write on, Rick. Note to Duane: we HAD an advertising sit-com and I hope we have no more.
It is so difficult to for people to see our industry at our best whilst an emu and handler shout at us every 20 minutes reminding everyone that a copywriter and production company can actually do work this bad.
Mr. Stanton:
I couldn’t agree more with you and have had those same thoughts re: the Liberty Mutual waste of money.
Having spent several of my formative adult years in the Seattle version of Mad Men I encountered some o that same BS. On one occasion the creative team and agency management prevailed against my call of BS on an annual campaign for one of our largest clients. So, dutifully I made an appointment to make the presentation to the client. I did my best to sell it, but ended up dodging storyboards and print layouts as he flung them frisby style at me with great accuracy. Tail between my legs and presentation materials snuggly tucked away I limped back to the office ro report on the creative teams “successful” campaign.
Shortly after my arrival back at the office the agency director got a call from the client. The agency was ordered to come up with a viable alternative and be prepared to take the entire account team to SF to present it to our SF office. If the SF office approved, we could proceed otherwise he would find a new agency.
Fortunately the alternative was “acceptable” and production proceeded without much fanfare.
I have since often fantasized about creating a sit-com based on stupid creative solution meetings and the dialogue that leads to an Imu type campaign.It would go something like; “What if we _____ and then we can ____.” The closing would always be some schlepping AE ducking storyboards and layouts.
Spot on Mr. Stanton.
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