Holiday themed messages in insurance advertising is gaining in popularity the last few years. At a time when people are home more with families and attuned to ads with the latest gadgets and sales, holiday-themed advertising makes sense for insurers.
Today Ace Metrix revealed the top scoring holiday ads according to consumers. The Ace Score is the measure of ad creative performance based on viewer reaction to national TV ads. Anyone turning on their TV around this time of the year probably starts to block out the “one day sale” ads and constant toy commercials after some time. But the heartwarming stories, messages of charitable giving and festive humor-spots often break through and capture viewers, creating good cheer and tugging at the heartstrings.
“While (not) surprisingly dominated by retail brands, an eclectic mix of advertisers demonstrated their creative savvy with ads rich in family and good cheer,” said Peter Daboll, CEO of Ace Metrix. “Whether they drew their strength from standout breakthrough characteristics, connecting with consumers emotionally, imparting new information, or leveraging product passion, the ads on this list represent the top performing three percent of all holiday ads to debut so far this year.”
Nationwide broke into the Top 10 with their ad The Grinch And Santa. It starts off with images of thieves taking stuff from a family’s home – even the plastic reindeer in the front yard and the Christmas lights! Then there is the familiar voice-over of Julia Roberts saying “In the nation, misfortune doesn’t take a holiday”. A lovely little elf comes in and replaces everything, so it looks like nothing had even went amiss. A brilliant strategy to advertise Nationwide’s “brand new belongings” coverage and deliver the message that when things are stolen or destroyed, Nationwide replaces them with brand new versions. “Making sure every season is the season of giving” the ad concludes.
In a similar theme Allstate’s holiday ad says “While you are celebrating Allstate will be standing by; trouble never takes a holiday”. While not advertising a particular product or feature the ad clearly continues to deliver on the “you’re in good hands” theme Allstate is so well known for. Originally run last year for the first time, Allstate aired the ad this year as well.
According to Ace, this year’s seasonal ads extended past the common theme of philanthropy with several advertisers delivering heartwarming stories of family and thoughtful giving. Many ads portrayed uplifting themes that strive to make an emotional connection with consumers. Who didn’t pause when first seeing the new Apple ad “The Song” where a granddaughter creates a heartfelt tribute to her grandparents love. According to Ace this year’s heartwarming ads generated emotional sentiment scores 13 percent higher than last year’s. In fact four of the ads created Emotional Sentiment scores of 70 or higher (on an index of 100). Humor also played a starring role this year with nearly 50 of all holiday ads attempting to be funny.
Particularly at this time of year, consumers appreciate simplicity of message and well-delivered information about a product or offer to help them make informed decisions. Nationwide certainly made people stop and think about their insurance coverage in a time when theft is high, and concerns over having presents and high-value items in a home is of importance.
Did you see any fun ads that made you stop and think this year? Or just ads you liked or will remember? Leave a comment below. We would love to hear from you!
Happy Holidays from The Lift Factor.