Law Firm Trantolo & Trantolo Goes Big for Super Bowl Spot

Personal injury law firm Trantolo & Trantolo is launching their new campaign in a big way - with new TV ads debuting as regional Super Bowl spots.

The 'Don’t Fight Solo' campaign features firm owner and president Keith Trantolo, who shows up at client houses with big checks, big news, and a big team.

The spots will debut as regional Super Bowl ads in Western Massachusetts and in day-of-the-big-game runs in Connecticut and Long Island.

These are not your usual personal injury law firm ads - each of the three new TV ads use humour to evoke big movie moments. But they make a larger point: when you take on the big insurance companies, you want a big team fighting for you.

“When people get injured, they find themselves battling a giant insurance company that tries to minimise their pain and payout,” says attorney Keith Trantolo. “We make sure every one of our clients is supported by a team - attorneys, client care specialists, investigators, medical specials and more. To make sure they get the result they deserve.”

“We also know that most personal injury ads all feel the same,” said CEO Scott Trantolo. “We wanted to do something different to grab attention. People don’t need us until they need us…but when they do, you want to be top of mind.”

The campaign - which also introduces a new logo and identity system, digital ads, radio, and outdoor - was developed by San Francisco-based Agency SOS, which handled strategy, creative development, and production. The TV spots were produced by Little Moving Pictures and directed by Double Solitaire.

“It’s a dream come true when a client says, ‘we know everything in our category looks and sounds the same and we want to do something different,’” said Agency SOS creative director John Kovacevich. “These new spots are fun and memorable and we hope ‘Don’t fight solo, Trantolo & Trantolo’ becomes an iconic line in the region.”

“We joked that our clients are all going to demand their own big checks, once these start airing,” said Keith.

Trantolo & Trantolo just celebrated its 85th anniversary and has long been a pioneer in attorney advertising.

Attorneys were prohibited from advertising in any format until a 1977 US Supreme Court ruling overturned state laws banning attorney advertising. But in Connecticut, attorneys were still barred from advertising on TV.

In 1980, Vincent Trantolo, co-founder of the firm (and Keith and Scott’s father), broke the TV advertising barrier, knowing it would land him in trouble with judicial overseers. It did and he fought it all the way to the state Supreme Court, where he prevailed - the Jan. 3rd, 1984 decision in 'Grievance Committee vs. Trantolo' opened the door to TV advertising in the state.

“He was a pioneer,” said Scott Trantolo. “He was a leader in marketing and it was something that he believed in so much that he was willing to put his license and his livelihood on the line to fight for what he believed was his right: the opportunity to market to people to let them know that he could provide them legal services and for a reasonable cost.”

The firm has five offices in Connecticut, two in Long Island, New York, and a new one on the way in Western Massachusetts.

Agency SOS began working with the firm over a year ago to develop the campaign.

“They were one of our Brand Strategy Bootcamp participants,” says John, referring to the agency’s six-week strategy program. “The work we did together helped the T&T team unlock their new positioning and put us on the path to this campaign.”

“A big shout-out to our small-but-mighty team. We don’t think an agency needs a lot of extra bodies to produce good work,” says John. “Plus, our directors Lydia Fine and Tony Blahd and our friends at Little Moving Pictures went above and beyond to make this one happen,” added Kovacevich. LMP handled both production and post responsibilities on the campaign.