J.K. Simmons and a Stampede of Basset Hounds Feature in Latest Farmers Insurance Campaign

RPA's new Farmers work launches today, and it's the brand's largest investment in digital/social to date. For the 2022 digital and social brand campaign, Farmers Insurance tackles some of the most enduring challenges for insurance advertising.

With competitors offering similar products, there is very little ability to differentiate. People take very little detail away from insurance advertising, often misattributing ads to other similarly named brands. This has led many insurers to follow the Farmers lead in developing jingles, catchy taglines, memorable characters, and other brand iconography to stand out. These sorts of elements don’t play so well in the world of digital and social, where attention is fleeting, skipping is instant, and an authentic, native feel is what works.  

The challenge for Farmers was to put this brand iconography strongly front-and-center, while still earning attention. For YouTube’s 15-second skippable placements, Farmers spokescharacter, Professor Burke (played by J.K. Simmons, introduces 'Basset Stampede', showing people sure-to-entertain snippets of footage in case their video turns out to be a let-down. For shorter un-skippable 6-second placements, Farmers leans into its well-known jingle and how it’s often co-opted in funny ways. On TikTok and other social platforms, Burke takes a customer on a tour of some of the more head-scratching trends out there, with the message that even if you don’t get the trend, it’s okay, because everybody can get Farmers Policy Perks.