Comedy can be an effective game but it’s a risky one. This Ally 30 second commercial is painfully funny and it stays funny, although the 15 second version does not deliver the same punch.  In the commercial the Ally agent is willing to do what it takes for his bee keeping client, but it’s clear the poor agent has gone way beyond the limits most company reps would go for a client.  He has forgone the bee suit.  What’s funny is how calm the agent stays after suffering a multitude of bee stings.  But as funny as the commercial is, I’m not sure it passes the recall test?  So it is effective?  Does Ally jump top of mind after watching the ad?  But perhaps its a distance play, and Ally’s strategy is about lots of repetition, not unlike Geico’s ads, that lizard sinks in over time.  There are other funny 15 second versions of various Ally commercials running, and repeating to run near the bee sting 15 to help repeat in an add break.  We’ll see if Ally can keep it up the trick of finding lots of funny scenarios.  One other interesting thought from Ally’s ads……and the insurance category overall , with Geico and the youngish girl sales person, Flo, in Progressive ads, has the whole quality and production values of the insurance ad category been raised up?  Flo is the weak link in this category – I don’t think she’s all that funny.  As we all know, comedy is a rough path, but some clients have been willing to make the leap.  We have the chops.  Paul spent four years in Tinseltown cutting his teeth on comedy writing, and despite the fact he did not hit pay dirt in the TV world, he can deliver funny.  Let’s talk.

Flo from Progressive

    Geico Gekko