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Progressive is committed to balancing reliability and the usefulness of artificial intelligence as consumer scrutiny of technology increases. The insurance company’s “Drive Like an Animal” campaign showed that insurance companies are leveraging new AI technology while supporting brand values.
The strategy behind Progressive’s campaign was a topic of discussion at Marketing Dive’s Feb. 25 virtual event, CMO Summit. The event featured Meghan Walsh, Vice President and Integrated Marketing Business Leader at Progressive, and Dani Mariano, CEO at Razorfish. The conversation was moderated by Marketing Dive senior reporter Peter Adams.
“[The campaign] “It follows our core values of being progressive,” Walsh said. “Everyone will be happy with the work and we are doing it the right way. It took a lot of hard work.”
“Drive Like an Animal” was created in partnership with Progressive’s record agency, Arnold. The brand’s in-house agency Ninety6 and external agency Monks also contributed. A 30-second hero spot featuring AI-generated animals driving cars and getting into accidents promotes the brand’s Snapshot tool. The ad is AI-generated and features the voice of actress Stephanie Courtney, who plays the brand’s iconic character Flo.
The idea of generating animals instead of humans was strategic. Animals fit the cartoonish aesthetic of AI better than humans, potentially reducing the feeling of the “uncanny valley.” Additionally, Progressive didn’t want to completely remove humans from the process. The brand continued to work closely with Arnold to ensure execution of the concept by Courtney before moving forward.
“We leveraged Arnold, they still stayed in the mix and made sure the progressive humor and consumer needs were met,” Walsh said. “We were going to follow what we knew had been tested well and would work well in the market. If we were going to test AI, it was also the safest place to do it.”
balancing act
Using AI can be a balancing act. This technology is about to transform the marketing industry, but consumers are still not convinced about it. In fact, content that appears to be “blatantly” generated by AI can be off-putting, with 37% of consumers saying it has a negative impact on brand loyalty, and only 24% saying it has a positive impact, according to Razorfish data.
“We were very interested in the emotional resonance of the commercial,” Mariano said. “What we found was that they weren’t really landing. And in addition to not being a negative feeling of loyalty, it wasn’t attracting people.”
“Drive Like an Animal” sought to balance consumer sentiment with the benefits associated with using AI, such as time and budget considerations. Walsh said the campaign was originally conceptualized for 2024, but required a lengthy production process and exceeded the allotted budget. The ad was then shelved and resurfaced about a year later when the brand needed another snapshot ad before the end of the year. The concept of animals driving cars was then reimagined using AI, significantly reducing time and budget.
“We knew this was a powerful message, and AI will help us get it across faster and help us achieve our goals in an economically sound way,” Walsh said. “I think it felt like night and day were different.”
Although Progressive took steps to balance the brand’s needs and consumer expectations, “Drive Like an Animal” was not widely accepted. The comments below the YouTube video, which has more than 142,000 views, are negative. Chats on online forums like Reddit follow a similar pattern. However, the ad performed well on metrics such as engagement.
“We got some creative comments, but we also got a lot of engagement with the work,” Walsh said. “We were looking at what it would do for our business, and the results were positive. It was a game changer for us from a business perspective.”
