The insurance company, Royal Sun Alliance, has unveiled a pounds 5
million campaign introducing its new name, despite the fact that it has
not yet finalised which advertising agency will run the account.
Arc Advertising, which handled Royal Insurance’s ads, created the
campaign. It uses the former Coronation Street star, Julie Goodyear, and
other celebrities to publicise the new name. Sun Alliance, which merged
with Royal in July, used Leagas Shafron Davis, and the two agencies are
understood to be in the running for the final account.
The campaign, which broke this week, aims to build awareness of the new
group’s name before the first Royal Sun Alliance branded products are
launched next year.
The drive uses four ten-second spots featuring Jools Holland, Mystic
Meg and Spike Milligan, as well as Goodyear. The celebrities have been
chosen for their appeal to a wide range of lifestyle and age groups.
In each execution, the famous face says the same thing - that Royal and
Sun Alliance have merged - but in his or her individual style. For
example, after saying the line in her boudoir, Goodyear says: ‘Gossip
isn’t what it used to be.’ Jools Holland utters his line while playing a
piano riff. Mystic Meg is shown with her hands over a crystal ball and
adds the phrase, ‘as predicted’. Spike Milligan is pictured in bed and,
when his cue comes to give the name of the merged company, he utters his
characteristic nonsense. Each ad ends with the line: ‘Together we’ll
serve you better.’
A poster campaign, featuring the same personalities, will roll out in
January to support the TV ads.
