The plane lands in Paris and you immediately point out the Eiffel Tower to your seatmates and anyone within earshot, after applauding the pilot's flawless landing.
Dr. Rick is so disappointed in you.
“No applause,” says the exasperated but ever-patient character in a new Progressive insurance announcement. “This is the end of a flight, not a Broadway show.”
But as he has done over the past four years, Dr. Rick is ready to save young owners from themselves, that is, from becoming their parents. This time, there is a seasonal travel theme in the popular and ongoing campaign, which flirts with the year 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris without having any official link with the Games.
Like the others non-sponsored brands taking advantage of the upcoming global event, Progressive chose his words carefully. The series' ads, launched today by longtime agency of record Arnoldrefer to watching live sporting events and visiting Parisian monuments, without any mention of the Olympic Games. (This would go against carefully protected trademarks.)
Capturing the spirit of the times
This marketing initiative is at the heart of Progressive's mandate to “deliver more culturally and contextually relevant advertising,” Sade Balogunsenior business manager of brand experience, told ADWEEK. The Olympics represent “a moment in the cultural calendar to intercept” consumer attention as the Games saturate mainstream media and popular consciousness.
Meanwhile, travel to Europe and elsewhere is booming. France alone is expected to welcome as many as 16 million visitors this summer, Balogun said, at least a quarter of them Americans.
Dr. Rick trivia: Ads featuring the self-described “parenting life coach” have touched on travel before, but the current campaign is “a more ambitious effort tied to our evolving strategy,” Balogun said.
