Timed to Cybersecurity Awareness Month, the :60 delivers its serious message with an agreeably light touch. And the clown gets zapped by a bolt of lightning. That’s a plus.

“No one is immune to what cybercriminals can do,” Downey says in press materials. “I’m incredibly passionate about this issue and I want everyone to understand the risks and take action to protect their families.” (Indeed, he sits on Aura’s board.)

The approach shares similarities with Tinder’s anti-scam ad starring Jonathan Bennett. Both feature appealing celebs, employ a humorous tone and seek to deflate the misconception that online crime is only a worry for older folks who aren’t as digitally savvy as the younger generation.

“The odds are so high, it’s clear people need help now,” says Hari Ravichandran, founder and CEO of Aura. “Last year, Americans lost $10.3 billion to online crime, and the crisis is only getting worse, so we determined we needed to make free support easily accessible to families, as soon as possible.”

With that in mind, Aura is launching a free safety resource center and an AI-driven chat tool providing personalized service.

CREDITS

Client: Aura
Chief Executive Officer: Hari Ravichandran
Chief Communication & Brand Officer: Howard Clabo
Director, Brand Marketing: Jordan Colleran
Sr. Director, Communications: Clare Carluccio
Brand & Integrated Marketing Manager: Justin Snider
Digital Brand Marketing Manager: Steven Yuen

Agency: Arnold Worldwide
Chief Creative Officer: Sean McBride
SVP, Group Creative Directors: Nate Donabed, Josh Kahn
Associate Creative Director: Dylan Meagher
Sr. Art Director: Sarah Shellaberger
VP, Executive Producer: Whitney Bogosian
Sr. Business Affairs Manager: Elyssa Ahern
VP, Marketing Director: Caroline Kozub
SVP, Client Operations: Priscilla Patterson
Director, Project Management: Kerrie Jacoby
Brand Strategy Director: Mitch Blum

Production Company: Arts & Sciences
Director: Matt Asleton 
DP: Robert Elswit
EP: Zoe Odlum
Editorial Company: Union Editorial
Editor: Merritt Duff
Assistant Editor: Ryan Stacom
EP: Melissa Lubin
VFX: Zero
VFX Supervisor: Robby Geis
Producer: Jack Swanson
EP: Meg Bailey
Sound Design: Soundtrack
Sound Engineer: Mike Secher

Sean McBride has spent 14 years at Arnold Worldwide, rising through the ranks to become chief creative officer. Since taking the reins, the Boston-based agency has more than doubled in size. During his career, Sean has served as creative lead across all sorts of clients and categories, including Ocean Spray, Volvo, Monster, New Balance, Merrill Lynch, Priceline, Panasonic and SolarCity. He’s best known for his leadership on Progressive insurance, with characters like Flo, Dr. Rick and Jamie entering the collective cultural consciousness. During his tenure, Progressive’s business has more than tripled.

We spent two minutes with Sean to learn more about his background, his creative inspirations and recent work he’s admired.

Sean, tell us …

Where you grew up, and where you live now.

I grew up west of Boston, went to middle and high school in Boston, and now I live north of Boston. So yeah, basically all over the world.

How you first realized you were creative. 

There was a moment early in high school where I became the guy who wrote funny things. This was a big development because at the time I was barely cracking the top 10 of people who said funny things. That’s when I figured out I was a writer.

A person you idolized creatively early on. 

Eddie Murphy’s stand-up was the first creative thing I remember being obsessed with. Every single beat of Comedian and Delirious still take up space in my brain.

A moment from high school or college that changed your life.

Right after college I went to London to be a research assistant on an edition of Shakespeare’s Julius Caesar. Studying Shakespeare taught me the importance of execution. He wrote almost no original plots—virtually everything he did was a retelling of someone else’s story. And yet he’s considered the greatest writer in the English language. Pure effing craft.

A visual artist or band/musician you admire. 

Bob Mould of Hüsker Dü and Sugar. He’s evolved without losing track of himself, and he’s a shining example of aging gracefully in a creative life.

A book, movie, TV show or podcast you recently found inspiring.

The Bear. A reminder that clear vision, great story and great execution are always enough.

Your favorite fictional character.

Max Fischer

Someone or something worth following in social media.

@Armwrestlingwhisperer. Hypnotic.

How Covid-19 changed your life, personally or professionally.

At a certain point I figured out my kids (then 11 and 8) had become my best friends. Like, for real. We had the same interests, inside jokes, the whole thing.

One of your favorite creative projects you’ve ever worked on.

I have a soft spot for these things we made for SolarCity. I love how different the tone is from everything else about on the subject.

A recent project you’re proud of.

The Dr. Rick work for Progressive is basically all I’ve ever wanted from this career—a thing that millions of people quote and laugh together about. We even wrote a book.

Someone else’s work that inspired you years ago.

Arnold is the agency that made me want to do this job. Twenty-plus years later, my heart still skips a beat when I watch Volkswagen’s “Pink Moon.”

Someone else’s work you admired lately.

One the of the hardest things to do in this business is to sell and preserve a simple idea. I can imagine this iPhone idea as a few spare words on the page, and how hard it was to not complicate it. I’m glad they didn’t.

Your main strength as a creative person.

I know what I like, and I know how to make what I like.

Your biggest weakness.

Em dash abuse.

One thing that always makes you happy.

Movie theater popcorn.

One thing that always makes you sad.

Bad seats on planes.

What you’d be doing if you weren’t in advertising.

I’d love to think I would be a screenwriter or a showrunner. But the truth is I’d probably be a mover. I have tremendous lower body strength. We should embrace our gifts.

Could there be any better brand ambassador than a big ol’ monster made of sticky notes symbolizing the to-do lists of small business owners?

The answer’s yes, of course. But that didn’t stop Progressive Insurance and agency Arnold Worldwide from unleashing such a beast. The creature’s not frightening (insert your own Flo and Jamie joke here). But it’s well-realized and darn memorable in a :40 breaking today.

Surly yet strangely appealing, it’s like something from waaay back on Lost in Space, vintage Dr. Who or Sid & Mart Krofft. It can claim Ikea’s stuffy whatsit and Skittles’ piñata man as kindred spirits.

Director Bjorn Ruhmann delivers on his rep as a wizard of weird, working in the style that produced notable oddities for Volkswagen, Mailchimp and Skittles (alas, not the piñata).

“What really elevates our latest work for Progressive is just how effectively our giant sticky note blob embodies what it’s like to have a runaway to-do list as a small business owner,” says Arnold creative chief Sean McBride. “It’s omnipresent, it’s relentless, but there’s no malice. The list is just there—impossible to ignore, impossible to avoid–a big, sticky-note-covered elephant in the food truck.”

This marks the second “character” intro of 2023 for Progressive and Arnold, following TV Dad from January. That one’s a series, but it’s unclear if they’ll stick with the monstrous notes concept long term.

“It was helpful for us to first set ground rules on what it should be—feel cumbersome and overwhelming yet still endearing,” recalls Arnold SVP/GCD Donnell Johnson. “The whole process took about two weeks. The suit itself is a combination of felt, cloth and real stickies, and it’s filled by a costume-character-actor with improv experience.”

“Working with an enormous costume, where the talent can barely see outside of it, is like shooting with animals or babies—everything takes longer than you expect,” Johnson says. “Simple actions like slapping a sticky note on something sometimes took three, four or 11 tries to get right. That made for a long day at a parking lot in Pasadena.”

CREDITS

Agency: Arnold Worldwide
Chief Creative Officer: Sean McBride
SVP/GCD: Donnell Johnson

VP/CD: Sara Goldsmith
Sr. AD: Diana Friedman

Sr. Copywriter: Evan Hohenwarter 
SVP/Producer: Sean Vernaglia 

Assistant Producer: Maria Torres 

Chief Client Officer: Val Bettini 
Marketing Director: Crissy Cavallaro 
EVP/Brand Strategy Director: Catherine Sheehan 

Director, Brand Strategy: Kylee Donovan 
SVP/Director of Business Affairs: Camara Price 
VP/Director of Project Management: Priscilla Patterson 

Production
Production Company: Smuggler 
Director: Björn Rühmann 
Co-Founder: Patrick Milling-Smith  
Co-Founder: Brian Carmody  
Managing Director: Sue Yeon Ahn  
Executive Producer: Allison Kunzman  
Chief Operating Officer: Andrew Colón  
Head of Production: Alex Hughes  
Producer: Luigi Rossi 
 
Post EFX 
Cosmo Street 
Head of Production: Anne Lai 
Editor: Aaron Langley 

Zero VFX 
Executive Producer: Jack Swanson 

Audio
Soundtrack Boston 
Sound Design & Mix: Mike Secher 

It’s cute how Reg’s name keeps flashing on screen: “Starring…” “Featuring…” “Introducing…” “Special appearance by…” 

And here’s a proper “episode,” with Dad getting the last word amid copious canned laughter: 

Arnold Worldwide developed the campaign, with Tom Kuntz directing. 

“People are seeing insurance ads all the time, and a lot of the language we want to use can feel familiar or even worn out at this point, no matter how true or compelling it is,” says agency CCO Sean McBride. “So, our idea was essentially, ‘If you’re not going to listen to us, who would you listen to?’ And obviously there’s a rich history with TV parents, especially TV parents from sitcoms, dishing out the perfect advice at the perfect moment.”

Of course, character-driven commercials are a matter of policy at Progressive, with Flo, Jamie, Dr. Rick and Motaur enjoying traction (plus Jon Hamm, as himself, joining for a flight last year). This new work extends that strategy and skewers pop culture tropes.

Thing is, TV dads and sitcoms feel like too-easy targets. The execution’s fun, and VelJohnson nails it. But the premise seems tired, the kind of self-aware shtick we’ve seen many times before.

How about casting Jamie as Dad’s wacky neighbor? Couldn’t hurt.

“We’ve had success with characters because we’ve had the discipline and good fortune to let those characters develop,” says McBride. “Work centered around characters tends to get better the more we get to know them. A construct can turn into a formula. But a character can grow and grow,”

CREDITS

Client: Progressive Insurance
Agency: Arnold Worldwide
Chief Creative Officer: Sean McBride
SVP, Group Creative Director: Donnell Johnson
Creative Directors: Tom Kelly, Doug Harry, Thomas Hair
Associate Creative Director: Roberta Totaro
Art Director: Lacie Johnson, Jerome Marucci
Copywriter: Courtney Hoenicke, Steve McElligott
SVP, Executive Producer: Sean Vernaglia
SVP, Director of Business Affairs: Camara Price
Chief Client Officer: Val Bettini
VP, Marketing Director: Caroline Kozub
EVP, Brand Strategy Director: Catherine Sheehan
Associate Director, Brand Strategy: Kylee Donovan
VP, Digital Strategy Director: Britt Teravainen
Jr. Digital Strategist: Ugonna Nwaoba
VP, Director of Project Management: Priscilla Patterson
Jr. Project Manager: Carlos Linares

Production Company: MJZ
Director: Tom Kuntz
Editorial Company: Cosmo Street
Editors: Aaron Langley
VFX: Brickyard
Color: The Color Refinery
Colorist: Rob Bessette
Casting: Clockwork Casting
Music: JSM Music
Sound Design: Soundtrack
Sound Engineer: Mike Secher

We’ve normalized crowdfunding to pay for medical procedures, which says a great deal about our healthcare system.

Nomi Health, a healthcare service provider that aims to lower healthcare costs by 30 percent, pokes fun at this very concept in its first ad campaign, “Go Fund Yourself.”

A 90-second satirical video, created by Arnold Worldwide, follows an out-of-touch healthcare exec describing how healthcare companies are fighting back against patients having a hard time paying for medical needs.

Appointment out of network? Go fund yourself. Pricey prescriptions? Go fund yourself. Copay on a colonoscopy? Bend over and go fund yourself where the sun don’t shine. The spot ends with a URL CTA and a smug grin from the exec.

“The current healthcare system and its incumbent players are definitively failing to address the healthcare needs of the nation,” says Anthony Modano, CMO of Nomi Health. “Americans are literally sick and tired while being handed a bigger bill each year, and to that the health system is saying ‘Go Fund Yourself.’ Our campaign shines a glaring light on the shortcomings of the current system and the ‘future’ we’re already barreling towards if we don’t urgently address them.”

The video is running on Nomi Health’s social media channels but serves as both an industry and consumer campaign.

“The idea is a call to arms to rethink the healthcare system as a whole,” Sean McBride, CCO of Arnold, tells Muse. “And the truth behind the idea—that crowdsourced fundraising has become a fundamental and widely accepted way for regular people to pay medical bills—is a sad reality that should ring true for the healthcare industry and consumers alike.”

He’s faking it!

Progressive’s silly summer romcom storyline with Jon Hamm working tirelessly to woo brand spokescharacter Flo concludes this week on a surprising note.

The third and final spot in the series from Arnold Worldwide opens with Flo paying a late-night visit to Jon’s swanky high-rise pad. Just when it appears that a burst pipe—and Progressive’s home/auto bundle—might bring them together, an absurdly OTT deception from Hamm is revealed:

That’s right, he faked the emergency. It’s not even his place, just a soundstage. 

The campaign bowed in May, delivering the comic goods with Hamm and Stephanie “Flo” Courtney in fine form. Plus, that ridiculous final twist was just random enough to please.

“Flo’s love for insurance is singular and unwavering,” Arnold creative chief Sean McBride tells Muse. “It’s one of the traits that’s defined that character for the last 15 years. What I think makes this new storyline so funny is that we’re testing the limits of that commitment. Is her love of insurance just as unwavering when she’s being pursued romantically by someone famous and charismatic, and seemingly way out of her league? Can she stop thinking about insurance long enough to even notice, much less reciprocate?”

Now we know the answer. She’ll watch over Hamm, metaphorically, “forever and ever.” (As long he pays those premiums.)

Separately, Hamm dons a bushy beard as Santa Claus in fresh, funny promos for Fox Sports’ FIFA Men’s World Cup coverage. These days, ads are Jon’s love language. Along with animated sitcoms, apparently, as he’ll provide the lead voice in Grimsburg, set to debut on Fox next year.

In the summer of 2021, Sean McBride, creative chief at Arnold Worldwide, got serious about adding a diverse group of funny people to his staff. He launched the Institute for the Comedically Gifted, a three-month program designed to entice folks with serious comedy chops to the Boston-based agency.

“For a bunch of years, I’ve struggled to find funny creatives, as ad schools and other agencies seemed to care less and less about making funny work,” McBride tells Muse. “At the same time, over the last few years, Arnold has really been pushing itself to diversify our team, but traditional channels were only getting us so far. So, at a certain point it occurred to me that maybe we were trying to solve the same talent problem on two parallel paths, and the solution to both was to combine those paths. That’s how the idea was born.”

Anyone can apply for the program, but Arnold is looking for “relatively established funny people, and our main focus is on diverse and underrepresented talent,” McBride says.

So far, the agency has accepted four applicants, chosen via writing samples, YouTube videos, Twitter feeds and old-fashioned word-of-mouth. Each received a “competitive freelance rate” for their efforts, McBride says.

“It’s educational, in the way any first job is educational,” he adds. “They’re learning to apply their well-honed comedic skills to a different medium, as working creatives under the guidance of experienced CDs. That said, the name—the Institute for the Comedically Gifted—was always meant to be a goof. It’s not a school. Though I do like the idea of a place where comedically gifted people gather from all around to join advertising. Sorta like that school in X-Men, but a lot sadder.”

Of course, marketers have leaned into the comedy world before, with Uptight Citizens Brigade participating in campaigns through the years, while agency staffers often study improv to hone their approach. Here, however, we’re talking about a quarter-year internship, focused on humor writing.

“We’re recruiting and freelancing comedy-native people instead of advertising-native people,” McBride says. “We get to see if they’re any good at writing ads, they get to see if they even like writing ads. We get ideas from cool voices to keep our campaigns fresh, they get to make some money while they make their way as comedy professionals.”

Arnold is fortunate to have some well-established comedic campaigns to plug new talent into, “which means the characters and the rules of the universe already exist, to a degree,” he says. “So, when starting out, a new writer’s job might be to write jokes for those characters, or maybe write some new scenarios, instead of having to come up with a whole new campaign out of the gate.”

Efforts for Progressive, with Flo (plus Jon Hamm!), Baker Mayfield and Ed Helms, represent its highest-profile forays into funny business. Other rib-ticklers include outings for Monster and AmeriSave.

Standup comic Sam Ike—referred to McBride through a friend—recently graduated from the program to a full-time copywriting gig.

“I’ve always had an interest in advertising, but it never occurred to me how to go about getting into it,” he says. “I usually don’t dream about jobs, it’s usually donuts. I told my friend that I was going into a Zoom to talk about GIFs. I feel like that kind of sums up this experience for me.”

Ike’s first TV commercial with Arnold, a Jurassic World tie-in, finds the Progressive gang shrugging off dino-mayhem:

Looking ahead, Bride would like to establish more formal relationships between the comedy and advertising communities. “Ryan Reynolds made a couple funny ads outside the existing agency/client model, and the ad world went ape-shit,” he says. “There is so much more opportunity for us to make funny things that drive business if we can expand where we draw talent from and change the way we use it.”

From Ike’s perspective, “I’d be thrilled to stay with Arnold for as long as they would have me,” he says. “It would be a tough call if I ever got cast in a reboot of Living Single, though.”

When Mad Men star Jon Hamm plays Flo from Progressive’s old flame, it’s a match made in pop-culture heaven! Or somewhere.

In the first of three ads from the insurer, things start out kind of bumpy, as Flo struggles to remember Hamm’s name:

So, Jon’s career is going in the right direction? Kidding, of course. Hamm rocks in whatever he does. And Flo, played by Stephanie Courtney since 2008, is, well … 

Iconic! That’s what she is. Progressive put two icons together. Cool.

This trailer previews bits from upcoming installments:

“Yes, we’ve met Flo’s family, but until now, her love life has stayed under wraps,” the company explains in press materials. “With ‘Flo’s Love Interest,’ Progressive is showing another side of this familiar character—a side many consumers can relate to that’s rooted in a universal aspect of life: relationships, more specifically, past relationships. We all can relate to the feeling of reconnecting with an old flame, just adding to the complexity of Flo as a character and bringing her closer to our customers.”

If Jamie turns out to be their love child, this is the campaign of the century! (Spoiler: He’s not.)

Some backstory, per Progressive: “When Jon was a struggling actor, Jon and Flo went on a single blind date. It went … OK. He liked her, but she only seemed interested in saving him money on insurance. Years later, uber-famous Jon recognizes Flo on the street, and is intrigued once more. And Flo is still much more interested in other, insurance-related things. “

The push from Arnold Worldwide will run through the summer across national TV and digital channels.

See the second ad below, with Jon and Flo enjoying a romantic dinner for two. Or four. Make that six…

CREDITS

Agency: Arnold Worldwide
Chief Creative Officer: Sean McBride
SVP, Group Creative Directors: Josh Kahn, Nate Donabed
Creative Director: Thomas Hair
Associate Creative Directors: Jamie Malnati, Cynthia Posillico, Patrick Franklin
Art Director: Annie Shepard
Copywriters: Kelsey Calaitges, Matt Kennedy
SVP, Executive Producer: Mike Lawson
Executive Print Producer: Jim Spadafora 
Senior Producer: Pat Carney 
Assistant Producer: Maria Torres 
SVP, Director of Business Affairs: Camara Price
Business Affairs Associate: Leo Do
Chief Client Officer: Val Bettini
Marketing Director: Caroline Kozub
EVP, Brand Strategy Director: Catherine Sheehan
Associate Director, Brand Strategy: Kylee Donovan
Associate Director of Project Management: Eric Rubino
Production Company: Station Film
Director: Brendan Gibbons
Editorial Company: Union
Editors: Merritt Duff, Ryan Stacom
VFX: Brickyard
Sound Design: Soundtrack
Sound Engineer: Mike Secher

If you thought Judas Priest frontman Rob Halford rocked out righteously in last year’s Plymouth Rock Insurance ads, wait until you see (and hear!) Ed Helms riff on ’80s hair-metal—and other musical genres—for Progressive.

Actually, why wait? Here’s “Driver’s Ed,” courtesy of Arnold Worldwide, working those frets in Progressive’s first Gen Z play:

That’s his real hair! The short ‘do at the start, not the maniacally moused, flowing stuff he sports later, while belting out lines like:

You dig ’90s boy bands? (Netflix does.) In Ed’s take on the genre below, dude begs his boo to “Kick it into gear, girl … Don’t hit that deer, girl!”

Shucks, country fans, Ed’s got you covered, too:

Hobby Film director Craig Brownrigg maintains a high level of absurdity while sticking the brand message each time. D.J. Javerbaum of Daily Show fame supplied lyrics, with Singing Serpent composing the music.

“The assignment was simple—to educate Gen Z on the ins and outs of car insurance as they reach driving age,” Arnold creative chief Sean McBride tells Muse. “Naturally we were looking for a format where you can go a little deeper on a subject that can be complex, but still have it be fun and entertaining. There’s utility to these songs. They’re a bit like Schoolhouse Rock for car insurance. But with a sillier, more irreverent sensibility.”

The team cast Helms in large part because The Office has been “the most popular streaming show on the planet within the last year or two,” says McBride. “And that viewership was and is heavily driven by Gen Z. So, we would contend that Ed is a sneaky big deal with Gen Z.”

Yep, Ed nails it. Encore! Encore! After all, Progressive won fame for its recurring mascots like Flo and Jamie, the Mayfields and Motaur (they should maybe slam the brakes on that one).

“The craziest thing was that we recorded the vocals to the songs on the same day we shot the videos,” McBride recalls. “Ed had of course worked to develop them and learn them beforehand, so he wasn’t coming in cold. But we set up a recording situation on location, he’d sing his guts out, we’d do a rough mix in a few minutes, and he’d be lip-syncing to that mix moments later. It was pretty intense.”

Other recent long-form music forays—which to some extent represent the evolution of old-school brand jingles—include Meta’s promos with dance diva Peaches, this Kraft-Kelis team-up, and DraftKings’ viral series starring young rappers.

CREDITS

Agency: Arnold Worldwide
Chief Creative Officer: Sean McBride
Chief Client Officer: Val Bettini
Creative Director, Art: Thomas Hair
Creative Director, Copy: Tom Kelly
Art Director: Daniel Hughes
Copywriter: Courtney Hoenicke
Junior Copywriter: Samuel Ike
VP/Executive Producer: Whitney Bogosian
Sr. Producer: Lauren Landry
VP/Marketing Director: Jordan Colleran, Alex McSweeney
Senior Marketing Manager: Esther Wang
EVP, Brand Strategy Director: Catherine Sheehan
SVP, Director of Business Affairs: Danielle Ivicic, Camara Price
Assoc. Director of Project Management: Eric Rubino

Production:
Production Company: Hobby Film
Director: Craig Brownrigg
Executive Producer: Renee Krumweide
Line Producer: Josh Rothfeld

Editorial:
Editorial Company: Cosmo Street
Editor: Aaron Langley
Asst. Editor: Jared Zygarlicke
Producer: Paolo Solarte

Color:
CO3
Colorist: Joseph Bicknell

VFX:
Zero
Executive Producer: Meg Bailey
Sr. Producer: Danny Dianora
Flame Artist: Mark L’Heureux

Music:
Singing Serpent
Executive Producer: Dennis Culp

Lyrics:
DJ Javerbaum

Mix:
Soundtrack Boston
Engineer: Dave Sicilian