Even if you get tackled out of nowhere, maybe it's fine if it saves you / AIG Japan "#TackleTheRisk"

The problem

AIG Japan wanted to present insurance not as something that responds "after an accident happens" but as something that "prevents it before it happens." This was a time when rugby fever was building in Japan ahead of the 2019 Rugby World Cup, and AIG was also an insurance partner of New Zealand Rugby.

The insight

A tackle looks like a violent act from the outside, but in rugby it's also a move that protects a teammate from danger. Kazoo Sato of TBWA\HAKUHODO focused on that, overlapping the physical action of tackling with the real essence of insurance: prevention. The structure is built so that the people who watch without knowing it's an insurance ad are the ones most surprised by that leap.

The idea

A high school girl, a bicycle delivery worker, office workers exchanging business cards, a mascot handing out flyers. At Shibuya's scramble crossing, players tackle passersby one after another, sending them flying. The twist: each person was actually being saved at the last second from a truck or a falling object. Nine players appeared, including Jerome Kaino and Brodie Retallick, but since they had matches coming up, most of the rough scenes were handled by stunt performers.

What happened

The Drum and Adweek covered it, and it became a talking point within the industry. New Zealand Rugby also put out a welcoming comment, framing it as a way to build interest in the team ahead of the 2019 World Cup.

Afterthought

Going from "huh?" to "this is way too violent" to finally "ah, I get it" — that three-step structure is what really got me. It's impressive how they used tackling, about the most physical action there is, to fully express something as formless as insurance.

Tags