Entry #5: Like, O-M-G

Commercials

    I am not a car person, but I have to admit sometimes car commercials make me chuckle. Even if they're supposed to be "professional" or "serious" commercials, the shots of a sleek car zooming down an empty seaside highway or roughing it out in the wilderness are funny to me. Who decided they needed to be so serious all the time? The narrator usually has a deep booming voice, too. It's just silly to me. 

    Commercials for car insurance, however, are usually not as uptight. They're always somewhat mishap-y and full of shenanigans. They're meant to be funny and satirical of the types of people who need car insurance: young people, old people, reckless boys, distracted drivers, etc. In recent times, cellphones have been an increasingly prevalent problem for drivers. This is a gold mine for car insurance companies. Easiest idea for a commercial ever.

 You're in Good Hands

    Allstate is a good example of an insurance company that likes to gently make fun of its users. It's all in good fun!

    This Allstate commercial is effective in getting its point across while also being humorous. The commercial presumably is aimed towards young female drivers and the parents of those drivers. The bimbo-fication of Dean Winters proves this. The slang talk ("BFF," "whoopsies," "I'm all O-M-G"), the emotional immaturity ("Now, I'm emotionally compromised"), and the hyper-feminine presentation (bedazzled flip-phone and pink everything) all work to make the point that young people, specifically young women, are prime candidates for car insurance. They get distracted while texting, they let their emotions get the best of them (although teenagers usually can't help it), and they can be pretty irresponsible.

    To parents of young teens learning to drive, this commercial might put into perspective the reasons why it's important for that demographic to have car insurance. It might also make the youth themselves become a little more self aware; humor and satire can be one of the best methods of self-reflection. Even the commenters appreciate the humor in the ad.

    In my opinion, this ad does a great job of making fun of its audience while effectively advertising its product. And come on, the pink SUV driving angrily around the corner at the end is pretty funny!