Farmers does it again

I have always been a fan of the Farmer's Insurance Company's recent ad campaigns.  I think they are funny, intuitive, and give people a reason to want to watch as opposed to almost any other insurance ad out there.  There's really nothing to them.  Take a spokesperson, throw in an outrageous scenario, and then talk about how Farmer's covered that. 

Farmer's has had great success with these commercials for some time now.  I have seen them range anywhere from a beaver chewing down a log and smashing a car to a trunk being set on fire during a parade.  Do we honestly think an insurance company will actually pay for these incidents?  I'm not sure and I doubt many people really care either.  The simple fact is, Farmer's has been getting the word out there that they will cover anything. 

They aren't trying to say that they are the cheapest agency around.  They aren't trying to target younger audiences with the promise of saving money.  They're going after a bigger pool.  They're going after people who haven't been covered like they thought they were with an insurance company.

I think Farmer's is smart in this way.  They realize that there is a small part of the population that doesn't care what get's covered.  They only want the bare minimum.  Farmer's realizes that there is a much bigger percentage of the population that has either been disappointed by their own company or has been let down.

Having that strategy in mind, they decided on a comical approach to their commercials.  We all know that sex sells and there are plenty of companies willing to use that.  Farmer's has decided on humor and I think they did well. 

Even their independent insurance agents have jumped in on the game.  Take for instance this Instagram post.

The caption around the goat's neck reads, "Apparently, I attacked my reflection in a car door.  What's a reflection?"

The text underneath tells the viewer that this was just another incident that was covered by Farmer's insurance.  The ad plays off of the guilt posts that have been so popular on social media.  Around the world, people have been posting pictures of their animals in embarrassing situations suggesting that the animal is ashamed of what they just did.  We all know that the animal isn't thinking this at all but its funny to us to think that those words could be running through the animal's mind.

Again, you see in the ad that the agent isn't concerned with making sure you think they have the best rates.  He is focusing on coverage.  He wants you to think that maybe you won't be covered if a goat smashed your car.

To drive that home, he adds the humor up the goat not knowing what a reflection is in hopes that people will share and like this post.  This is a very effective marketing campaign and one that they will be able to continue using for quite a while to come.