Life Insurance Advertising

Ever since the insurance sector opened up several new players have entered the fray, each trying to make a place for itself. In the good old days the life insurance sector was synonymous with Life Insurance Corporation of India or LIC, a public sector undertaking, which was the only player. Since there was no competition the advertising was relatively basic. LIC did not have to worry about competition; it only had to fight resistance of people towards life insurance.  

Times have changed, now there are many private players, at least 22 of
them other than LIC. Life insurance plans earlier comprised mainly of whole life and endowment and few others. Today we have ULIP linked policies, special policies for children’s education and more addressing different needs. Not only have the offerings of life insurance companies become innovative, ads have also become interesting. Aviva Life Insurance and ICICI Prudential Life Insurance rely on celebrities – Sachin Tendulkar (Aviva) and Amitabh Bachchan (ICICI Prudential) while HDFC Standard Life Insurance has a series of beautiful ads on the theme – Sar Uthake Jiyo. Many of the ads are good but there is one ad I personally like very much, it is an ad made in 2008 but is seen on TV even at present and it is that of Max New York Life Insurance. Please watch the ad below:

 

If one studies this ad closely one will notice that this ad is in a way different from other ads one sees on TV. Watching this ad is like watching a short film. The message is: life is uncertain so one has to be prepared for any eventuality however unpleasant. The message is pretty much the same for other life insurance ads also, but what makes this ad different is the way it has been executed. It is a very ‘cinematic’ ad if I may describe it as so. Every sequence and every shot contributes in building tension and suspense little by little right from the time the lady enters her home and starts looking for her husband. She begins with her household chores but clearly her mind is elsewhere and continues her search for her husband, the shots showing a drop of water falling on the pan or the telephone ringing adds to the overall effect. The ad tells the inconvenient truth and uses the emotion of fear not to scare but to caution. Overall it is a well made film, no wonder it is being telecast even after three years.       

 Another life insurance ad I like is of LIC ad made also made in 2008, a paper boat has been beautifully used to depict the uncertainties of life. Watch the ad below