AXA lightens up insurance pitch

<p>HONG KONG: AXA has broken the mould on insurance advertising with </p><p>two wacky television commercials that feature a donkey, a sleepwalker </p><p>and a man playing like a child. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>In a departure from the cautionary tales of most insurance advertising, </p><p>AXA is setting out to encourage people to enjoy life and not worry about </p><p>the future. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>The implication being that AXA is there to help look after their </p><p>future. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>AXA's move to lighten up the insurance advertising tone comes in the </p><p>wake of research which has found that Hong Kong people are among the </p><p>most pessimistic in the world. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>In lightening up a category known for the earnest tone of its </p><p>advertising, AXA has portrayed people in extremely unlikely situations - </p><p>sleeping with a donkey, being knocked out by a falling coconut in </p><p>downtown Hong Kong or falling into a manhole as in the "Donkey" TVC. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>The "Kids" commercial, features a man on a merry-go-round caught up in </p><p>imaginary sword fights. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>John Snelgrove, AXA general manager, corporate affairs, said: "People in </p><p>Hong Kong worry about the future more than enjoying what they have </p><p>now. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>"So we show them these things and end with the tagline 'Go Ahead - Don't </p><p>worry. Have some fun. What have you got to lose?', which gives the 'Go </p><p>Ahead' part of the logo more substance, almost like Nike's 'Just do </p><p>it'," Snelgrove added. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>Prior to this, insurance advertising has typically depicted how people </p><p>have benefitted in the long-run when they sign up with an insurance </p><p>company - children growing up, getting married and then growing old and </p><p>retiring comfortably. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>Craig Davis, executive creative director of Saatchi & Saatchi, observed: </p><p>"As AXA's brand awareness is already high, we would have gained nothing </p><p>going down that route." </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>Saatchi & Saatchi developed the AXA campaign. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>"The objective is to make AXA the preferred brand so we had to take it </p><p>one step further," Davis added. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>Snelgrove said the change in strategy was risky but added: "You've got </p><p>to take risks every now and again." </p><p><BR><BR> </p>