Benjamin Hang
Professor Patel
WRI 001-54
November 14, 2012
All-State Ad Campaign
Insurance companies, along with many other advertising markets in the industry, have
been competitive trying to compete with one another, either to remain stable or to advance to a
higher level of marketing. They have also been competitive with getting their names out into the
market through advertisement trying to be recognized. Starting from a small insurance company,
All-state and Progressive insurance companies have been yearning to be on top of the market.
Priming on All-state’s Insurance Company, they have been making continuous advertisements
and have become successful because of their portrayal of safety and concerns of the driver. AllState promotes safe driving to all drivers and insures them with coverage of accidents and
injuries thoroughly.
All-State offers a safe driving bonus as an addition to car insurance, so that drivers feel
safe driving under “All-States hands” and to save potential drivers extra money. All-State
promotes the idea of a safe driver to show that they actually care about the driver. For example,
in the advertisement of the slow motion car by All-State, the driver is not safe but the car is, as
the driver crashes into a car in front of him, so they offered a bonus of safe driving to pay less for
upcoming insurance payments. All-State promoted the bonus for all drivers to feel safe driving
and not crash into the car like the driver did. All-State covers damages that are applied to the car,
but not to the driver. Therefore All-state encourages that all drivers drive safe and prevent
accidents, so the bonus of paying less for car insurance can apply to all drivers. Driving safely
will make other drivers feel safe and secure and also, at the same time, pay less for car insurance
overtime. All-State shows that they will save drivers’ money for insurance, as an extra bonus, for
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driving safely because all drivers and surrounding drivers will want to be safe when driving an
automobile.
Progressive, as opposed to All-State, doesn’t care for the safety of the driver and their
surrounding drivers. Progressive’s insurance company advertisements show that people can save
money from other insurance companies, but that’s all that Progressive has to offer. For
clarification, in the advertisement of Progressive’s “Money Suit” ad, young couples are looking
for insurance and Flo (the insurance woman that’s advertising) offers them a list of savings that
they would make from other insurance companies if they were to choose Progressive. Insurance
that saves the customers money is Progressive’s offer, but they have no effect on drivers and
their protection like All-State does. All-State puts drivers in “good hands” (All-State logo) and
actually promotes a safe driving bonus to save spending. “[This] insurance industry exists to
protect its customers ("insureds" or "policyholders") from the consequences of risk” (Tarter 71).
Customers under All-State will feel safe knowing other people are under the same insurance
company and with the same policy of safe driving. All-State has more to offer than just saving
money for customers and that’s why All-State is more successful than Progressive’s insurance.
All-State’s auto Insurance Company takes full responsibility of any car accidents or
damages as to other insurance companies that have flaws within coverage of damages. Safety
limits the mistakes for critical moments like accidents and crashes. But as good of a driver many
people will seem, there will always be other factors like drunk drivers and inexperienced drivers
that will cause an unpreventable accident. For instance, All-State presents the “Blind Spot”
advertisement, to show that there are flaws into trusting other insurance groups of covering all
damages on the car for these types of accidents. Therefore, All-State ensures that if under their
care, all damages will be taken care of and there would be no amount of cash that the driver
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would have to pay additional. Covering for damages, All-State shows that they have full
coverage over any needs for repair from accidents. All-State insurance company guarantees
coverage to keep drivers safe and their vehicles safe because that’s their priority.
As to Progressive’s auto insurance, Progressive has low prices than All-State for
customers to cover insurance on cars, but do not cover all damages on cars and therefore, leaving
a “blind spot.” All-State’s ad of a “blind spot” shows Progressive’s ad of “name your price tool”
to show that customers can adjust to the pricing of Progressives policies, but with that type of
insurance, they will not cover for accidents that drivers may not see coming. Thus leaving the
damages for the drivers to pay. Compared to drivers that have All-State insurance, the damages
would be paid for. “Progressive [has] achieved a significant strategic advantage by incorporating
competitive pricing…,” but pricing doesn’t meet the standards of covering for damages like AllState does (Lewins 37). Lutz also explains in his excerpt of “Weasel Words” that, “Advertisers
use weasel words to appear to be making a claim for a product when in fact they are making no
claim at all.” Progressive’s auto insurance are like weasel words; they try to get customers to buy
low priced insurance that does little to nothing to help drivers when accidents occur. Progressive
hides the information that All-State clearly gives out. All-State situates drivers in “good hands”
and ensures their protection.
All-State doesn’t limit their audiences to couples, families, and single adults, but to all
drivers in need of insurance. People come to All-State because it is more of a personal plan and
is not limited to opportunities like Progressive’s couples and family plans. Its variety targets all
drivers as a whole. For instance, All-State targets individuals who need car insurance as shown
in all advertisements made by All-State. A wider group of individuals needing car insurance
makes All-State a more successful insurance company because of their unlimited opportunities.
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With more opportunities to buy insurance, individuals have more options to make instead of
limiting themselves to a specific group of insurance companies that only have certain plans like
family and couples plans. The openness of insurance policies from All-State displays that they
care about the drivers concerns on getting insurance.
Progressive auto insurance targets a small audience with their advertisements of couples
and policies they portray. The need of insurance is from individuals, to couples, to families, but
progressive mainly picks out couples and families for their policies. For example, in the ad,
“Trailer” from Progressive, only a couple or a family can bundle their belongings to buy
insurance for their automobiles, housing and motorcycles. Kilbourne states, “The story that
advertising tells is that the way to be happy… is through the consumption of material objects”
(Kilbourne 471). All-State doesn’t limit their customers and if they do not have a family or
significant other that they will still be able to get insurance. Also consumption of material objects
like single auto-insurance would make it easier, so customers won’t be obligated to have a family
or a couple to get a plan from Progressive. All-State gives the opportunity to all individuals
seeking insurance to have the customers covered with insurance instead of leaving individuals
out, because they do not have the requirements of a couple or family. All-State shows that they
care for individuals, couples, and families altogether through their open policy towards
customers.
All-State shows that people matter too when buying car insurance. It’s just not about the
car and fixing it afterwards, but about the safety from hazardous drivers. All-State promotes safe
driving to keep good drivers and for the bad drivers to come to All-State and make the driving
community secure. All-States success is through the safety of customers and their satisfaction.
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Work Cited
AllState4u. "Allstate - Allstate Mayhem Blindspot." YouTube. YouTube, 11 Oct. 2011. Web. 14
Nov. 2012. <http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EA1tQ_SF4-8>.
Kilbourne, Jean. “Jesus is a Brand of Jeans.” Language Awareness. Eds. Eschholz, Rosa, Clark.
Boston: Bedford/ St. Martins. 2009. 466-471. Print.
Lewins, Lisa A., and Tim R.V. Davis. "Progressive Insurance Competes With The Strategic
Application Of Information Technology." Journal Of Organizational Excellence 21.2
(2002): 31-38. Business Source Complete. Web. 14 Nov. 2012.
Lutz, William. “Weasel Words: the Art of Saying Nothing at All.” Language Awareness. Eds.
Eschholz, Rosa, Clark. Boston: Bedford/ St. Martins. 2009. 442-452. Print.
Progressive. "Money Suit - Progressive Insurance Commercial with Flo." YouTube. YouTube, 21
Oct. 2010. Web. 14 Nov. 2012. <http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DcmdW4H_WSQ>.
Progressive. "Standoff - Progressive Insurance Commercial." YouTube. YouTube, 1 Nov. 2012.
Web. 14 Nov. 2012. <http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5Rz6H4bZzhQ>.
Progressive. "Trailer - Progressive Insurance Commercial." YouTube. YouTube, 2 Apr. 2012.
Web. 14 Nov. 2012. <http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9LhE2yCBr-k>.
Tarter, Blodwen, Mary Caravella, and Debra Zahay. "Allstate Insurance: Building Relationships
Through Email Campaigns."International Journal Of Integrated Marketing
Communications 2.1 (2010): 71-79. Business Source Complete. Web. 14 Nov. 2012.
ThatsAllStatesStands. "Awesome Slow Motion Allstate Commercial." YouTube. YouTube, 6
Nov. 2007. Web. 14 Nov. 2012. <http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c9Rd-xQgU-g>.
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