View this article online: https://www.insurancejournal.com/news/national/2000/08/03/11265.htm
MetLife Auto & Home began airing a new television and radio advertising campaign featuring Snoopy to build awareness that “all auto insurers are not the same” and to promote its Coverage Plus and Deductible Savings Benefit programs.
These programs include features not found in most insurance policies. “Consumers are often very surprised to discover that their auto insurer depreciates their vehicle and won’t pay the full cost to replace the car if it is totaled,” said John Rutecki, vice-president of marketing for MetLife Auto & Home. “Unfortunately, the importance of having the right insurance is not realized until a loss occurs. With the help of Snoopy, these ads draw attention to the fact that consumers need to be educated about some of the coverage gaps and unexpected expenses that they could be saddled with, and to emphasize that all insurers are certainly not the same,” he added.
The 30-second TV ad, entitled The Gift, is a tongue-in-cheek commercial featuring a woman in her garage wrapping a giant red ribbon on a new sportscar that she has purchased as a surprise gift for her husband. After she finishes tying the ribbon, her husband returns home later that evening and crashes right into the new car — believing the garage is empty. At this point, the voice-over says simply: “New car totaled? MetLife Auto will replace it without deducting for depreciation and still save you up to $200 or more in premiums. Now that’s insurance the way it ought to be…”
Snoopy is one of the last images seen in the commercial, comforting the shocked husband and wife who will have their vehicle replaced because they have MetLife Auto & Home’s Coverage Plus.
The TV and radio campaign is airing in markets around the country and will continue through the fall. The markets include Hartford/Danbury, CT; Gainesville, Panama City and Tampa, FL; Jackson, MS; Manchester/Portsmouth, NH; Albany, Buffalo, Rochester, Syracuse, and Westchester, NY; Cincinnati, Columbus, and Dayton, OH; Providence, RI; Knoxville and Nashville, TN; Salt Lake City, UT; Richmond, VA; Seattle and Spokane, WA; Madison and Milwaukee, WI.