Nostalgic Marketing

What’s the deal with all these insurance commercials? Every single one claims to be saving everyone some money? Has the insurance industry seen a decline in their customers recently or has the competition gotten so fierce that they have had to up their game?

Lately, the commercials have gotten more and more clever and funnier. Geico started the trend but State Farm has caught up quick with its catchy slogans. The most notable being “The Discount Double Check.” The following commercial is just one in a plethora of commercials that feature the use of the slogan in a variety of situations.

This particular one resonates with me personally though because I remember my grandfather performing this magic trick on me. I had hair then. Yay memories!

The commercial is pretty straight forward. The best part is the end of the commercial though when the granddaughter double checks her brother’s hair to see if there are any more quarters and of course, not only coins fly out, but also a watch! I almost burst into laughter, even though it’s not that funny. This is because there were several things going through my head right at that moment. I thought about the Simpsons. Marge normally hides things from Homer in her crazy big blue hair and that made me smile. Of course fond memories of my grandfather also helped.

I really thought that State Farm did a really good job as far as connecting with their target market. I don’t think there are many people that haven’t had that trick performed on them in their younger years. Nostalgia is a powerful tool in the marketing toolbox and many companies have used it with great success. Of course digital media isn’t the only medium, take a look at this old print ad. It reminds me of a friend of mine from high school that had a VW Minibus. Good times!

I may not remember other insurance commercials but I will certainly remember this one because of its specific relevance to me. Good job State Farm. I won’t be switching from USAA anytime soon but it was certainly a valiant effort. Keep it up and if I need a “Discount Double Check,” I will certainly call.

Posted by Farrukh Memon