Admiral Insurance 'Multi-Car Couple'

By Smith, Geoff

Why did I agree to do this? Simon Butler (my other half in the creative director role here at Grey) is away on holiday, and the workload has quadrupled. I've been meaning to watch the ads from this week's Adwatch table for two days now, but I just haven't had the time. It's lunchtime and either I watch 20 executions or ring around for yet more insurance quotes on my new car.

So, ads or call centres in Glasgow? Ads or waiting in a 'your phone call is important to us, please hold' queue? Ads it is then.

By complete coincidence, the first ad on my list is for Admiral motor insurance. So I'm definitely in the target market. Now, I don't know if you've seen this particular commercial, but it involves a guy who looks like Lord Nelson, only with a full complement of limbs and eyes. He also has a talking parrot. Obviously.

What happen is as follows: the Admiral informs us that Andy and Jane have two cars in their household and that they have to go to the expense of insuring them separately. The parrot then squawks 'Multicar! Multicar!' and our Admiral explains that they could put both cars on one policy, thus saving more than Pounds 200.

The couple look amazed and then repeat what they've just heard. 'Wow, we could put both cars on one policy and save over Pounds 200?' There's more than one parrot in this ad. In fact, every single line is repeated.

But I don't need telling twice. I have a car to insure and Admiral could save me more than Pounds 200. I immediately pickup the phone and call the company. I get put through to a very nice Welsh girl whose accent is so thick that I have to keep asking her to repeat herself-I think this whole parrot theme is company policy. Anyway, the quote is very reasonable and I do save over Pounds 200.

So the ad worked on me; and it's memorable - probably because they keep repeating everything. But do I like the ad? No, I do not like the ad. No, I do not like the ad.

Admiral Insurance: repetition isn't likable, but it works

Geoff Smith

Creative director, Grey London

Copyright Haymarket Business Publications Ltd. Jun 13, 2007

(c) 2007 Marketing. Provided by ProQuest Information and Learning. All rights Reserved.