‘Oblivious’ humans under attack from alien invasion in Budget Direct campaign

‘Oblivious’ consumers are the centrepiece of Budget Direct’s latest campaign push featuring detective Sarge.

In the ad, Sarge laments how oblivious consumers are to potential insurance savings, as he himself appears oblivious to the alien attack happening right next to him. Instead of running scared from the aliens around him, as everyone else is doing, Sarge instead wants to know why they’re paying too much for their insurance.

Sarge was unveiled in September last year in a radical new marketing direction for the insurer.

The hard-bitten detective Sarge investigated a series of unusual goings-on, but became fixated on why consumers do not take action when it comes to the price of their insurance renewal.

The introduction of Sarge as Budget Direct’s marketing centrepiece presumably marked the death of Capitan Risky, however CMO Jonathan Kerr has previously been unwilling to write him off completely.

When asked if Captain Risky was being retired, Kerr previously told Mumbrella: “I’m not sure. He might be. Clearly we’re moving on with the story, and this is the next chapter in the story.”

The story of Sarge has now, according to Kerr, been well established, along with the Insurance Solved platform, allowing this next evolution to take place.

“With the Insurance Solved platform taking hold, we’re in a great position to drive even faster growth through our award-winning insurance, standout advertising and the simple questioning of why Australians are paying so much for their insurance,” he said.

303 Mullen Lowe’s ECD Gary McCreadie also noted the campaign’s progression and story-telling.

“The last phase of the campaign was all about setting up the character of Sarge and the ‘Insurance Solved’ idea,” he said.

“This time we could just hit the ground running. This spot is about Budget Direct winning Money Magazine Insurer of the Year three years in a row. That’s massive news.

“And for Sarge, that’s a bigger deal than anything else that could happen – even an alien invasion.”

The spot will run across TV, cinema, online, outdoor and indoor display, and radio.

It was shot by Danny Kleinman through Rattling Stick/ Goodoil Films, and photographed by Mat Baker via Louis & Co.

CREDITS
Budget Direct
Chief Marketing Officer – Jonathan Kerr
General Manager – Brand & Media Marketing: Warren Marsh
Marketing Manager – New Customer Acquisition: Catherine Harty

303 MullenLowe
Executive Creative Director – Gary McCreadie
Creative Director/ Art Director – Adam Whitehead
Creative Director/ Copywriter – Sean Larkin
Managing Director – Joanna Gray
Senior Business Director – Ben Glasson
Head of Strategy – Jon McKie

Production Company – Goodoil Films / Rattling Stick
Director – Daniel Kleinman
DOP – Ginnie Loane
Executive Producers – Sam Long / Johnnie Frankel
Producer – Chana McLallen
Editor – Mark Burnett @The Editors
Post Production – alt.vfx
VFX Supervisor – Jay Hawkins
VFX Producer – Celeste Fairlie
Music and Sound Company: Sonar Music
Music Composer – Matteo Zingales
Executive Producer – Sophie Haydon
Sound Designer – Timothy Bridge
Stills Photographer –Mat Baker, LOUIS & CO
Stills Digi Op – Carl Baker, LOUIS & CO

Jonathan Kerr and CEO of 303 MullenLowe Nick Cleaver are speaking at the upcoming Mumbrella Finance Marketing Summit on 25 July in Sydney. Their session ‘Insurance solved: Budget Direct’s Long Game, Fast Growth Marketing Strategy’ will delve into the strategic thinking behind its campaigns, and the learnings from the brand’s work over the past 10 years – including Sarge, Captain Risky, and the Boojay Boojay brand platform. Tickets are available here.