Progressive Insurance's marketing strategy is turning back to its fictional salesperson Flo "for its latest football-themed spot" that puts a "clever twist" on halftime shows, according to Kevin Kleps of CRAIN'S CLEVELAND BUSINESS. The ad, which is running in the NFL Playoffs but not during Super Bowl LIV, first started airing during Sunday's 49ers-Vikings NFC Divisional game. The spot "begins with Flo talking to a couple about bundling their home and auto insurance, then cuts to Smash Mouth performing its 1999 hit 'All Star.'' Viewers are then "told to 'now enjoy the second half of commercial,' which goes back to Flo in the couple's living room, eating snacks." Progressive CMO Jeff Charney said of the ad, "We wanted a little hint that we can outsmart some of these folks that have put up a lot of money for a Super Bowl ad." Progressive also was trying to "do something it wasn't sure had been done before -- a break within a commercial break." Meanwhile, Charney said that the company's homeowner ads featuring Browns QB Baker Mayfield "pretending he lives at FirstEnergy Stadium" have been "well-received." There have been "eight Mayfield spots," which Progressive designed as a "series of interconnected episodes -- part of what Charney describes as its 'network' of characters." The finale in the Mayfield series "will air next Sunday" during the Titans-Chiefs and Packers-49ers AFC and NFC Championships, respectively (CRAINSCLEVELAND.com, 1/10).
