Aviva's £80m celebrity rebrand under fire

by Nikki Sandison, Brand Republic, 30 April 2009, 09:35am

LONDON - Insurance group Aviva has been accused of squandering money with its £80m rebranding campaign, which included celebrity-packed ads featuring Bruce Willis, Ringo Starr and Elle Mcpherson.

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At the group's annual general meeting, investors accused the Aviva board of "squandering" shareholders' money on the campaign, according to The Telegraph.

Lord Sharman, chairman of Aviva, defended the move arguing that the company's brand awareness had grown from 35% to 80% as a result.

The TV ads, created by Abbott Mead Vickers, feature celebrities who changed their names before becoming internationally recognised.

The campaign is designed to highlight the rebranding of all the group's businesses, including Norwich Union in the UK, to Aviva. The group is the world's fifth-largest insurance group.

The latest ad sees celebrities, including McPherson, Starr and Macaulay Culkin, alongside members of the public expressing their opinions about what they expect from an insurance company.

In the UK, the TV ads have been accompanied by a nationwide billboard campaign. The international campaign will start later this year, targeting the American, Asian and continental European markets.

Read Brand Republic's Celebrity Sell Out blog on Aviva's rebrand.

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All Comments

NICHOLAS BOWMAN - 30 April 2009

Well if you live in a celebrity obsessed culture, it's a bit rich to complain when clebrities are used for promoting a brand.

Sarah Vernon - 30 April 2009

God, I hate these adverts.

'Would all this have happened to me if I was still Richard Starkey?' Um, considering the rest of your band had non-ridiculous names, then probably, yes.

'What kind of a name for a glam rock star is Vincent Furnier?' A pretty damn cool one?

STUPID. Plus, what this ad is saying - how much of their customer's money did this cost?

Sarah Vernon - 30 April 2009

Not ad - article. Doh.

Adam Cheesman - 30 April 2009

And the Bruce Willis - or aka 'Walter Willis' - he would got the role either way as I just remember his as John McClane

Peta Stuart-Hunt - 30 April 2009

This is a creative but irritating campaign run without due consideration to the fact that the world is in recession, AVIVA has just delivered poor results and frankly it has been throwing good money after bad with a really rather depressing campaign.

Andrew Griffiths - 30 April 2009

Brand awareness may well have grown but I would question how positive this awareness is.

I blogged about this myself \(http://tinyurl.com/c3dg3o) but didn't know the actual cost of this campaign until reading this - makes it even worse!

Graham Mills - 30 April 2009

As a shareholder, albeit very small, I don't like my money being wasted like this and I grow progressively irritated with the ads. I agree 100% with Sarah Vernon on the stupid statements within them. Everyone in the UK recognised Norwich Union whereas Aviva is yet another meaningless name designed not to offend anyone and therefore instantly forgetable unless you spend £80m a year supporting it. I wonder how much of their 'international' business actually comes from the UK?

John Gallen - 30 April 2009

Funny, I was only thinking about this excessive campaign the other evening when I saw what appears to be a second round of these adverts \(Macauley Culkin et al). The job was done and there was no need for the second phase. It's just getting annoying at this point, so I'm not surprised shareholders are up in arms.

Hi Nicholas, as Sarah points out the complaint wasn't about the content having celebrities, it's about the spend.

Tobi Laniyan - 30 April 2009

I didn't really understand the ads for this either? A wasteful amount of money I'll say!

Susan Imgrund - 30 April 2009

"Aviva" sounds like a particularly tacky Eurovision song contest entry. Don't think I'd want those sort of associations for a company looking after my financial future.

Disgusted-born-in-Norwich

Jeremy Lee - 30 April 2009

It sends out mixed messages. One of my colleagues pointed out that Ringo says that he wouldn't have been famous if he was still Starkey. And then in another it implores you not to call them by their stage name. Baffling.

Kate Hartley - 30 April 2009

The proof will be in whether these ads increase revenue, not just awareness. If the campaign brings in more than £80 million in new business, then they'll be worth it. If they don't... it'll be a really simple maths test.

Sarah Vernon - 30 April 2009

Very good point, Jeremy. I can't imagine these ads will increase revenue - with a retail brand, using celebs makes them seem successful and high-end, and probably will help sales. With a financial institution, extravagant campaigns send out the message that they have money to burn - their customer's money. These ads certainly put me off going with Aviva - I don't think it's true that talking about an ad means it is effective, particularly if your response is negative. I may be more aware of the Iceland brand thanks to Kerry Katona, but those dreadful ads make me never want to shop there or associate myself with her.

Anthony White - 30 April 2009

i'm not going to criticise any brand which is spending money on advertising at the moment but then i'm not a shareholder.

Alexander Farrimond - 30 April 2009

i do quite like it - the only bit being the Mcaulay Culkin bit - as i think you can actually hear and see the pain as he realises no one cares who he is any more....

Alan Kittle - 30 April 2009

Awareness, shmareness... Anyone with half a brain will remember a campaign that's been splattered over every available space for months now. Point is does anyone care they've been swallowed up by their parent company's brand? What does it mean to the average punter? Nada. So what? Where's the benefit? Bad, bad Norwich Union. Sorry, Meriva.

Dasbeasten - 30 April 2009

I agree Alan. Any campaign with the weighting of this one doesn't need to rely on creativity - the frequency ensures that the country has been brainwashed into mentally branding the new name onto their brains whether they want to or not. And thank you Norwich Union, I had forgotten about Macauley Culkin until your extravaganza of waste brought him back into my living room.

Robert Frost - 30 April 2009

You can't reasonably criticise without being party to all the research. Clearly there is a major strategy behind this, almost certainly a problem with the Norwich Union brand so they are doing the right thing in re-establishing their brand now rather than allowing problems to develop. I imagine Aviva is a more internationally palatable brand so this may help them grow internationally by acquisition.

Tom Wells - 30 April 2009

Kate Hartley is nearly right, but not quite harsh enough. These ads will have been worth it if they generate additional shareholder value of at least £80 million plus the cost of employing the capital.

Tom Wells

AwallafaShagba - 30 April 2009

At least it isn't Iggy Pop wiffering on about being named James Newell Osterberg, Jr.

Graham Mills - 30 April 2009

[quote user="Robert Frost"]You can't reasonably criticise without being party to all the research. Clearly there is a major strategy behind this..........[/quote]

You don't work for the labour Party do you Robert?

Apart from the fact that if one can not comment without being party to ALL the facts then nobody can ever comment; there is an assumption in your comments that there is a strategy and that it is a valid one and we really should not challenge our betters!

John Gallen - 30 April 2009

Hi Graham, I can hear the Tory side of the floor chuckling after that one and lots of shouts of here-ere! :)

Robert Clements - 30 April 2009

Shareholders obviously weren't quoted happy but i tend to agree with my namesake. It must be to do with Aviva's global expansion/alignment strategy which should save them money in the future....

Kevin Gordon - 30 April 2009

Find out which investors like the campaign and buy the others out.

It's called Debit Stripping.

Ian Forth - 01 May 2009

Oh I don't know. An ad explaining the discount on lawnmowers at B&Q, or a campaign that's gone to the trouble of bringing Elle Macpherson into our living rooms? I don't remember all this carry on about shareholder value when British Gas was using Larry Hagman, Joan Collins and Burt Reynolds. Chillax.

david accord - 01 May 2009

As long as you watch long enough to see the name change part then the ad works.

Baffling, irritating.......these things will be forgotten when i renew my car insurance or buy holiday cover.

If you know which company you are complaining about then the ad has worked.

David Bowie - 01 May 2009

dunno what aviva does exactly? cant wait to see the film though, good cast.

David Bowie - 01 May 2009

actually its a rubbish cast but eclectic.

David Bowie - 01 May 2009

actually its a rubbish cast

- 02 May 2009

Forget the squandering of cash which just keeps a few advertising hacks in business - this advert has a really sinister edge!!!! The "message" is saying that some names are guaranteed to be better than others so is this a case of discrimination for anyone called John or McClane? What is in a name - most commentators think tha Aviva name is a load of c*** so how long will it be before the Norwich Union name comes back at vast expense as the new brand? I've heard in Norwich that people are moving their insurance away from Norwich Union because of the name change.

Robert Frost - 02 May 2009

[quote user="Graham Mills"]

[quote user="Robert Frost"]You can't reasonably criticise without being party to all the research. Clearly there is a major strategy behind this..........[/quote]

You don't work for the labour Party do you Robert?

[/quote]

They're not our betters, they're just the people who are party to the relevant information, brand perception research, business strategies, market forecasts etc. A schoolchild could poke his nose in and say "You don't want to do it like that..." like the character off The Fast Show.

Graham Mills - 03 May 2009

[quote user="Robert Frost"]

[quote user="Graham Mills"]

[quote user="Robert Frost"]You can't reasonably criticise without being party to all the research. Clearly there is a major strategy behind this..........[/quote]

You don't work for the labour Party do you Robert?

[/quote]

I'm sorry I don't watch the Fast Show although the idea that a child might point out that the Emperor has no clothes is I believe a well known adage.

It's people who are who are "party to the relevant information, brand perception research, business strategies, market forecasts etc" who came up with the new policy on Gurkas and other failures.

I am sure that there is a strategy, I am just challenging whether it is a valid one. It might be one that is being driven from the top with nobody prepared to suggest that it might be wrong. I seem to remember that there have been products that have changed their formula and then as a result of customer pressure had to change them back. I guess that the strategy was wrong irrespective of the market forecasts etc.

The one thing that you can say about market forecasts etc. is that they give you an excuse if things go wrong, you are never alone with a market forecast.

Nicola Lucas - 05 May 2009

"It sends out mixed messages. One of my colleagues pointed out that Ringo says that he wouldn't have been famous if he was still Starkey. And then in another it implores you not to call them by their stage name. Baffling." Jeremy.

I noticed that too - he praises having his changed name and then is pissed off when people use it - er make your mind up!