Distressed Duck Needs to Get Down in Carbo Films' Aflac Spot

Aflac, the leading provider of voluntary insurance in the United States, announced today that it launched its first original Spanish-language television commercial last week. The commercial, called “Heights,” will air nationally on major Spanish-language networks through late November. 

Aflac has previously aired four Spanish television commercials to date, but they were adaptations of the company’s popular English language commercials. “Heights” is Aflac’s first commercial designed from the ground up with the Hispanic audience in mind. 

“We continue to see an upward trend in the number of policyholders and interest in supplemental benefits from the Hispanic market,” said Michael Zuna, executive vice president and chief marketing officer at Aflac. 

“Aflac understands that the Hispanic audience has different needs, different priorities and a slightly different way of communicating. In our new campaign, we’re speaking directly to this important market with messaging they can more easily relate to rather than just translating our English campaigns into their language.”

In “Heights,” the Aflac Duck appears alongside two window-washers on a scaffold many stories above the ground. When the scaffold shakes and one of the workers says, “You know what? Sometimes I get scared,” the audience likely thinks the two workers are afraid of heights. Yet, the conversation continues and viewers learn that the men are more afraid of unexpected medical bills that could affect their family’s savings and future plans.

The commercial reinforces the theme of “protecting your plans” as the two characters discuss what’s most important to them – their families – and how Aflac can help if they are unexpectedly sick or hurt. 

In addition to the television commercial, the campaign will be supported by several integration elements including local radio in select markets, digital banners, online videos and more.