Because the car insurance market is so hotly contested, there are always tons of commercials created to win over customers.
Better still, because car insurance is quite a bland product, providers need to work hard to jazz it up in their ads, which results in some truly fun, creative and entertaining spots.
Here’s a rundown of the best car insurance commercials, as well as advice on what you can do to avoid overpaying for cover yourself.
Looking for cheap car insurance online
First off, if you want affordable policies to protect your vehicle, you can buy them online or over the phone from the likes of CheapInsurance, which lets you compare car insurance quotes to get a good deal.
Comparison sites are ideal for cutting through the marketing hype, since they feature offers and products from lots of different insurance brands, rather than only serving one provider.
Geico’s Gecko
Not just a one-ad wonder, but a household name that’s been featured in literally hundreds of commercials, the Geico Gecko is an example of marketing done right.
What’s most impressive about this cute mascot is that he doesn’t veer into the wacky or over-the-top personality that you might expect from an anthropomorphic lizard, but instead uses his calm demeanor to gain the trust of prospective customers. That’s exactly the kind of reassuring vibe you want from a corporate character for an insurance company.
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Farmers Insurance’s Hall of Claims
If you’re looking for a celeb to front your insurance ads, you want someone with a bit of gravitas, and Farmers hit the jackpot when they hired J.K Simmons for their Hall of Claims series of commercials.
The Oscar-winning actor brought dry humor to the role of a curator of a museum of auto claim incidents, exploring the different types of disaster against which Farmers provides cover.
It’s not just the high production values and the well known face that help here, but also the important message that underpins everything.
State Farm’s Helium
In terms of pure hilarity, it’s hard to beat the Helium ad from State Farm. It starts slow, showing a couple of dudes who’ve been involved in a fender bender and are making a call to their insurer to request a tow truck. Things quickly get silly when it emerges that a tanker containing helium has overturned just ahead of them, giving their voices a Chipmunk-like pitch.
As with the Farmers commercial, there’s a clever mix of helium humor and relevant information about the service offered to customers, showing that the best ads have a good balance of both of these elements.
Progressive’s Flo
When an insurer comes up with a character that’s likable, relatable and amusing, without needing to resort to a potentially annoying animated mascot, you know that it’s onto a winner.
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That’s exactly what Progressive did with Flo, an idol since her introduction almost 15 years ago. She’s used across the entire range of products that it offers, so it’s not just car insurance she sells. And it’s also a showcase of actress Stephanie Courtney’s range.
Final thoughts
It’s great to enjoy commercials for car insurance or anything else for that matter, but you shouldn’t be blinded to the benefits or downsides of the products being promoted.
Do your own research, compare prices and quotes from different providers and avoid believing everything you hear in an ad in order to get the best deal. Also check with people you know and trust to see if they’ve got recommendations for particular companies if in doubt.
