Seagulls Selling Insurance?

Who created this message?

This message was created by Liberty Mutual, an insurance company that offers a variety of coverage from home and renters insurance to auto and life.

What creative techniques are used to attract my attention?

This ad is definitely playing on the curiosity gap to catch people’s attention.  The set up is a pie-eating contest in front of the statue of liberty which is a part of the insurance company’s logo.  The announcer for the contest thanks the sponsor, Liberty Mutual, while delivering the catch phrase, “Only buy what you need.”  The contestants begin the contest only to be attacked by seagulls requiring them to scatter and hide.  This seems to be a ploy to catch people’s attention because they’ll want to know what is going on.  The catch phrase is then repeated and the commercial ends with the jingle, “Liberty, liberty, liberty!”

What viewpoints or world views are included or left out of this message?

This ad was clearly targeted to an audience that is familiar with U.S. cultural references.  It is set in front of The Statue of Liberty at a pie eating contest, both of which invoke American nostalgia and tradition.  The contestants included are of mixed race, age and sex, however the attempted comedy depends heavily on viewers knowing how a pie eating contest works, especially considering the contestants are unable to complete it because they are swarmed by seagulls.  

How might different people interpret this message differently than me?

It was interesting to search this commercial because I found a Reddit post discussing how stupid the commercials are, which I think served the purpose of the commercial.  It seems that the company is trying to get people to talk about this commercial more than leave any sort of meaningful message.  They are relying heavily on product recognition as an advertising tool and attempting to create hype by apparently leaving people confused so they will talk about the commercials creating more product recognition.

Why is this message being sent?

I viewed this commercial on YouTube in the middle of a 30 minute workout I was trying to complete.  YouTube has recently added commercials to its videos, but they are short, so they have to deliver their messages quickly.  I think the purpose of this commercial is to catch people’s attention and get stuck in their brains.  The advertisers are trying to make you look as quickly as possible in order to state the catch phrase and play the jingle, creating hype and increasing product recognition and awareness.  You are meant to be left scratching your head, but still thinking about Liberty Mutual Insurance, all while repeatedly humming the jingle.