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CGU Insurance debuts campaign with 5-minute 60 Minutes spot

IAG’s CGU Insurance released a new campaign via independent agency Thinkerbell, debuting it with a five-minute spot during last night’s 60 Minutes on Nine.

The media approach for the spot, which is unusually long for a typical television advertisement, was developed by Initiative.

The ‘Tall Poppy’ film sees puppets tell the story of an ‘extraordinary little girl’, found on a doorstep. The vivacious child, named Poppy and who is tall, then begins to bring colour into the washed-out world by dancing on a table and drawing. She is then bullied, before her parent figure revives her. The film ends with a dedication to the ‘tall poppies’ behind every small business, then CGU’s line ‘Insuring Ambition’.

Shorter versions of the film will exist in other media.

It is not the first time an ambitious media strategy has been employed by both Thinkerbell and Initiative, the two having worked on Repco’s Repco Bathurst 1000 campaign where the voiceover for the spot continued over the top of other advertisements. One of the spots that was part of the spot takeover was Bear Meets Eagle On Fire’s ‘Rollin’ campaign, which is also owned by IAG.

The film, produced in California, was directed by Brian Henson, of The Muppets fame. The Jim Henson Company was involved in the production.

IAG chief marketing officer Brent Smart commented: “Who says B2B work targeting insurance brokers needs to be boring and rational? We created Tall Poppy to get Aussies to think differently about tall poppy syndrome and how it holds us back. CGU’s brand platform “Insuring Ambition” demands ambitious ideas, like wanting to work with The Jim Henson Company, one of the best storytellers in the world. The level of craft and care they brought to this, in addition to that of our brilliant partners at Thinkerbell, really shows in the work.”

Initiative’s chief strategy officer Chris Colter said: “With such an ambitious film as the lead, the rest of our media plan needed to match. With several market-first executions and bold media activations, kicking off by running the five-minute film uninterrupted in 60 Minutes, we’re ensuring CGU Insurance is not just promoting the power of ambition but living it.”

Thinkerbell national chief creative tinker Jim Ingram added: “More than a third of Australians believe that ambition is often regarded as a dirty word – we set out to change their mind with this campaign. Poppy is a heroine for the positive power of ambition, which can lead to creativity and innovation.”

The campaign will roll out across multiple media from 20 February.

Credits:

Client: CGU Insurance

IAG Chief Marketing Officer: Brent Smart

IAG Executive Manager, Intermediated Brands: George Exikanas

Integrated Communications Manager: Cath Bosson

Integrated Communications Specialist: Catherine Verge

Media Specialist: Lisa Jarvis

Media Lead: Tom Dodd

Corporate Communications Manager: Alexandra Peard

Creative and Earned: Thinkerbell

Head Brand Thinker: Gerry Cyron

National Chief Creative Tinker: Jim Ingram

Head Creative Tinker: Sesh Moodley

Lead Tinker: Simon Dall

Design Tinker: Morgan Brown

Head Group Thinker: Ruth Hatch

Lead Thinker: Imagene Callinan

Thinker: Sally Irving

National Head Production Tinker: Grant Anderson

Production Tinker: Ruby Abrahim

National Head Earned and Owned Thinker: Anjana Khallouf

Lead Earned Thinker: Lauren Myers

Chief Thinker: Adam Ferrier

General Manager (North): Katie Dally

Chief Executive Officer: Margie Reid

Production: The Jim Henson Company

Directing: Brian Henson

Producer: Vince Raisa

Producer: Brian Henson

Producer: Rita Peruggi

Co-Producer: Melissa Creighton

Associate Producer: Gigi Bebawi

Media: Initiative

Managing Director: Sam Geer

Chief Strategy Officer: Chris Colter

Group Business Director: Elyse Foley

Communications Design Director: Emma Greenhalgh

Client Director: Alison Bongailas

Partnerships Director: Jessica Scott

Partnerships Manager: Nathan Vega

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