As I sit in the movie theatre with l10 other football players watching previews, a commercial takes the screen. Dean Winters appears standing on a tree saying “I am a random windstorm…shaky shaky” just as the tree limb collapses onto a car below. The guys erupt in laughter and immediately Allstate has gripped its hold in the minds of these 110 young men. Over the course of the next week, "shaky shaky" can be heard throughout the locker room as guys re-enact the commercial. Allstate began these advertisements using Dean Winters as the dark ominous character of Mayhem who causes destruction in various ways. In his commercials Dean assumes the role of young adults, storms, animals, and inanimate objects that cause damage in different ways.
The hilarious Allstate Mayhem commercials have swept across the nation receiving great reviews from all I’ve spoken with. Allstate is already well-known for their “good hands” slogan, but have searched for a way to reach younger crowds. Allstate intelligently decided to shed the commercials where despair and gravity overcome the viewer. No one wants to see grief and will quickly try to erase the depressing commercial from its memory. Younger consumers especially do not like to be faced with doom and gloom. With the new array of funny Mayhem commercials it seems they have finally found the attention of the youth. Teens and young adults generally are under the protective insurance of their parents where the decision lies solely in the hands of the parents. Eventually the young adults are “cut off” from their parents and forced to live autonomously. Allstate seeks to benefit from the ousting of the young adults by instilling their brand name through its advertising. What better way to reach this target market than with humorous commercials depicting people in their age group.
When Allstate signs a young customer, they have the potential to bank revenue off of the customer for the remainder of his/her life, creating a continuous revenue stream through brand loyalty. The Mayhem commercials call attention to the ridiculous behaviors of the millennial generation. Our generation doesn’t take offense to the blatant mocking, but rather embraces it for its honesty and humor. Over the past week I have seen several Allstate Mayhem commercials that point directly to my age group or those just below it. Teenagers are hormonal and sex-crazed, often thinking irrationally because of the opposite sex. Allstate exploits the well-known fact with its Mayhem these Mayhem commercials:
These television commercials clearly attack the illogical things young adults do when they should be focusing on driving. Allstate creates Mayhem as the villain, but depicts themselves as the hero in the end that saves you from your foolish mistakes. It leaves the viewer feeling that although I may do dumb things, Allstate will be there for me. As a young person, we know we will make questionable choices, having the support of someone to face the aftermath of those decisions is a powerful tool of attraction.
Whether you are actively searching for a new insurance provider or someone who has never had a single thought about insurance, the Allstate Mayhem commercials will remain in your memory when the question of who to choose for insurance arises.
Words by Shane Popham. Shane is a redshirt junior BEM major, whose favorite season is autumn because of football, apple fritters, cooler weather, and the changing colors of the leaves.
I am certainly a fan of funny advertisements, and I agree that this is an excellent ad. However, too often I think ads like this are funny, but soon forgotten. The company stops airing them and tries to do something else that is not as successful, or at least does not present the same message as the previous ads. I think the problem lies in schedules of reinforcement and its relation to recognition versus recall. Showing us an ad a bunch of times over a short period of time, and then moving on to something else will certainly ingrain it in our head, but it will not stick for the right reasons. The recognition and understanding that could be achieved through a consistent, steady exposure is missed, and instead, all we have is recognition of the ad. We remember “the funny All-State ad,” not the message it was trying to convey. I love this ad, and I hope All-State is aware of these concepts when deciding how and when to run their ads so as to maximize people’s exposure, but also have the message stick and have people recall the ad, not just recognize it.
ReplyDelete- Zan Smith
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ReplyDeleteYour thoughtful analysis of the Allstate commercials illustrates the concepts of recognition versus recall. The fact that your teammates quote the “shaky shaky” line that Dean Winters says in the commercial touches on the concept of recognition in advertising. Your teammates quote that line to one another because all of the team is aware of the commercial and its humorous context. It can be quoted between friends because the line reminds them of the funny commercial.
ReplyDeleteThe recognition of the line also helps with recalling the brand. While most of your friends are not in the market for purchasing insurance, because the Allstate commercial resonates with them because of the humorous things said, when they think of insurance brands they will probably think of Allstate since they can vividly remember the commercials. While recognition and recall are two different concepts, through the Allstate commercial you can see how recognition can impact recall.
- Alison Henley
These All State commercials are some of my favorites on TV right now. I say this because their ad has a distinct message, intended for a particular demographic. As Gen Y has begun to enter the workforce, numerous doors to advertisement opportunities have been opened. All State’s pitch is a great example of recognition vs. recall. Their commercials consist of a distinct character and identify with their younger target audience by recreating scenarios that all Gen Y’ers have encountered. While some may not notice it now, when the time comes to start looking into insurance plans, odds are that All State will be one of the first names that will come to mind. This is an extremely important element for their ad to achieve because it immediately gives them a competitive edge over the competition, simply due to the fact that the customer will not have to research auto insurance to be reminded that All State is one of the big players in the industry.
ReplyDelete-Steve