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| Two go in... one comes out! |
Vanity in Peril kicks off the summer with a new Wednesday feature we like to call My Commercial Mascot is better than yours (we're still working on that title) pitting well-known commercial icons and some that are relatively new to the game against each other in an effort to secure advertising world domination. It's kind of like Highlander, except for the winner only has immortality for however long the commercials product remains profitable (well that and the sword-fighting). This week we dive right in and see who comes out on top in a battle between the Farmer's Insurance Professor Burke and Allstate's Mr. Mayhem. Here are the stats:
Brand:
Before this ad campaign, which launched in September of 2010 and has created alot of buzz for the brand since, we had never even heard of Farmer's Insurance (and are still a little fuzzy on what exactly it insures, we're guessing ethanol ). The spots were created by RPA. Original, funny and solely responsible for keeping a shirt on actor, J.K. Simmons' back, we appreciate these ads for their lack of flashy CGI FX and stereotypical goofball fathers. Take a look at the latest ad below:
Brand:
Allstate fires back with their own one-two punch campaign. Meet Mayhem:
The campaign, created by Chicago-based adster Leo Burnett, is pretty clever and does a good job of showcasing the various predicament's the average driver may experience in our run of the mill, strip-mall lives. If Simmons' Burke is the Professor, Mayhem comes off as the cool captain of the football team. (I guess that makes Progressive's "Flo" a drama geek?) Plus they feature the under-used talents of actor Dean Winters, last seen giving Carrie Bradshaw the ol' rundown on HBO's Sex in the City.
But just like with Highlander, there can be only one winner. Both spots feature great character actors (who both just so happened to share Emerald City on HBO's Oz), a innovative twist on an idea and dry humor to pitch their respective products. While we can't quite make it through the day without singing "We are farmers... dum di dee dum da dum da dum...", those Mayhem ads feature a product that we were not only very familiar with but they free Dennis Haysbert up to do Dennis Haysbert-y things like star in hit dramas on CBS that we've never seen and get Jack Bauer in trouble.
Winner by split decision: Allstate
So what say ye? Do the Mayhem ads tickle you in all the right ways or would you rather register for classes with Professor Burke? Who has your vote?
--- Vanity in Peril
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