# ‘Flo’ (Progressive Insurance) Is A Bad Model **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [April 23, 2014, 5:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/flo-progressive-insurance-is-a-bad-model/686789 "2014-04-23T17:35:25Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![UncleFred](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/f0a364/32.png) [@UncleFred](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/UncleFred)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2014, 5:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/flo-progressive-insurance-is-a-bad-model/686789/1 "2014-04-23T17:35:25Z")
I am very disturbed by the character ‘Flo’ in all the Progressive Insurance ads on TV. And I don’t just mean her appearance. This is a person with a low-ranking job who lives, eats, and sleeps for her company. She wears her uniform all the time, decorates her home with the employer’s motif and appears to have no life outside of work. While Flo is probably the ideal employee from her company’s viewpoint, in today’s economy it is a one-sided and unhealthy relationship. The days of mutual loyalty between company and employee are long gone. Someday she’ll lose her job for some reason or other, though not her fault, and she’ll be on the unemployment line with no prospects. Yeah, I know, it’s just fiction and maybe a cartoonish one at that, and not worth getting upset about, but it galls me to see this type of thing presented when so many people are suffering from un- or under-employment. Does anyone else see it this way? ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Miskatonic](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mr.miskatonic/32/310_2.png) [@Mr.Miskatonic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Miskatonic)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2014, 5:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/flo-progressive-insurance-is-a-bad-model/686789/2 "2014-04-23T17:40:46Z")
Flo is not an employee. She is wholly owned by the Progressive company. She can’t quit and they can’t fire her. That’s why she goofs off and makes thrones out of boxes. ---
**Author:** ![Slithy\_Tove](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slithy_tove/32/18248_2.png) [@Slithy\_Tove](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Slithy_Tove)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2014, 5:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/flo-progressive-insurance-is-a-bad-model/686789/3 "2014-04-23T17:49:13Z")
A lot of advertising these days\* employ post-modernist humor, designed so that we congratulate ourselves by seeing through the joke. \*how long ago was Joe Isuzu? ---
**Author:** ![MrKnowItAll](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mrknowitall/32/87_2.png) [@MrKnowItAll](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrKnowItAll)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2014, 5:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/flo-progressive-insurance-is-a-bad-model/686789/4 "2014-04-23T17:50:30Z")
> [@Slithy\_Tove](#): > > \*how long ago was Joe Isuzu? Not long enough, unfortunately. ---
**Author:** ![Joey\_P](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/919ad9/32.png) [@Joey\_P](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Joey_P)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2014, 5:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/flo-progressive-insurance-is-a-bad-model/686789/5 "2014-04-23T17:50:48Z")
> [@Mr.Miskatonic](#): > > Flo is not an employee. She is wholly owned by the Progressive company. She can’t quit and they can’t fire her. That’s why she goofs off and makes thrones out of boxes. That’s a good point. Don’t think of her as an employee, think of her as a mascot. There’s even another one in Australia. https://www.youtube.com/embed/dT-5jLDykeY?feature=oembed&wmode=opaque There’s more, just look for Kitty, she’s their Flo. ---
**Author:** ![stpauler](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9d8465/32.png) [@stpauler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/stpauler)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2014, 5:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/flo-progressive-insurance-is-a-bad-model/686789/6 "2014-04-23T17:57:29Z")
Maybe Flo will get laid off one day. Remember the Sock Puppet from [Pets.com](http://Pets.com)? He was out of work after the website went under and was out selling auto loans not much later. He was a shell of his former glory. ---
**Author:** ![GrandWino](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/grandwino/32/67_2.png) [@GrandWino](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GrandWino)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2014, 6:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/flo-progressive-insurance-is-a-bad-model/686789/7 "2014-04-23T18:14:55Z")
> [@stpauler](#): > > Maybe Flo will get laid off one day. Remember the Sock Puppet from [Pets.com](http://Pets.com)? He was out of work after the website went under and was out selling auto loans not much later. He was a shell of his former glory. I have the actual sock puppet toy ([like this one](http://www.ebay.com/itm/PETS-COM-TALKING-DOG-SOCK-PUPPET-/141258587536?pt=Stuffed_Animals_US&hash=item20e3aafd90)), complete with recordings of Michael Ian Black (who voiced the character) saying various catch phrases. ---
**Author:** ![you\_with\_the\_face](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/ecccb3/32.png) [@you\_with\_the\_face](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/you_with_the_face)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2014, 6:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/flo-progressive-insurance-is-a-bad-model/686789/8 "2014-04-23T18:34:58Z")
I don’t understand why Flo wears a smock. What’s up with that? ---
**Author:** ![bup](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/6bbea6/32.png) [@bup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bup)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2014, 6:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/flo-progressive-insurance-is-a-bad-model/686789/9 "2014-04-23T18:38:28Z")
Why do they have her in a store, a ‘brick and mortar’ store? You can’t buy insurance like that. And the stuff on shelves is just boxes - that’s not an insurance policy. It all sets a bad example for people who have never bought insurance and might be misled. ---
**Author:** ![nevadaexile](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/eb8c5e/32.png) [@nevadaexile](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nevadaexile)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2014, 6:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/flo-progressive-insurance-is-a-bad-model/686789/10 "2014-04-23T18:51:20Z")
The saddest part about “Flo” is that the comedienne who portrays her will likely never have another role as successful for the remainder of her life. And that she probably didn’t want to be famous for series of commercials which simply have her parrot a group of scripted lines. ---
**Author:** ![Jophiel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jophiel/32/66_2.png) [@Jophiel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jophiel)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2014, 6:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/flo-progressive-insurance-is-a-bad-model/686789/11 "2014-04-23T18:58:17Z")
> [@nevadaexile](#): > > The saddest part about “Flo” is that the comedienne who portrays her will likely never have another role as successful for the remainder of her life. And that she probably didn’t want to be famous for series of commercials which simply have her parrot a group of scripted lines. A bajillion wanna-be actors should be so lucky. I doubt she’s riding a gold-plated horse through her money forest but I assume she’s keeping the mortgage paid on parroting those groups of scripted lines (and associated licensing, etc). ---
**Author:** ![GusNSpot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gusnspot/32/436_2.png) [@GusNSpot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GusNSpot)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2014, 7:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/flo-progressive-insurance-is-a-bad-model/686789/12 "2014-04-23T19:17:11Z")
Even big dog actors shill stuff. A lucrative part of the game. ---
**Author:** ![GusNSpot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gusnspot/32/436_2.png) [@GusNSpot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GusNSpot)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2014, 7:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/flo-progressive-insurance-is-a-bad-model/686789/13 "2014-04-23T19:23:10Z")
Added: Dennis Franz in the Caddy commercial. The best one ever IMO. ---
**Author:** ![bienville](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/4bbf92/32.png) [@bienville](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bienville)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2014, 7:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/flo-progressive-insurance-is-a-bad-model/686789/14 "2014-04-23T19:24:14Z")
> [@nevadaexile](#): > > The saddest part about “Flo” is that the comedienne who portrays her will likely never have another role as successful for the remainder of her life. And that she probably didn’t want to be famous for series of commercials which simply have her parrot a group of scripted lines. [She’s still very involved with The Groundlings theater.](http://groundlings.com/shows/show-details.aspx?showID=4) She’s able to do what she loves while having a fairly easy and very high paying and not time consuming job to cover all of her expenses and needs. I imagine she’s pretty happy. ---
**Author:** ![Drunky\_Smurf](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/drunky_smurf/32/449_2.png) [@Drunky\_Smurf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Drunky_Smurf)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2014, 7:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/flo-progressive-insurance-is-a-bad-model/686789/15 "2014-04-23T19:27:26Z")
> [@nevadaexile](#): > > The saddest part about “Flo” is that the comedienne who portrays her will likely never have another role as successful for the remainder of her life. And that she probably didn’t want to be famous for series of commercials which simply have her parrot a group of scripted lines. I agree. I don’t know any actors who enjoy parroting scripted lines. It’s either on the fly improv or nothing. Basically all she is doing is reading. A three year old can read so it doesn’t say much about Flo. ---
**Author:** ![Amateur\_Barbarian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/59ef9b/32.png) [@Amateur\_Barbarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Amateur_Barbarian)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2014, 7:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/flo-progressive-insurance-is-a-bad-model/686789/16 "2014-04-23T19:31:51Z")
A character named Flo, dressed all in white, belongs in a Kotex ad. Sorry, it’s all I’ve been able to think of since the ads started. ---
**Author:** ![GrandWino](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/grandwino/32/67_2.png) [@GrandWino](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GrandWino)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2014, 8:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/flo-progressive-insurance-is-a-bad-model/686789/17 "2014-04-23T20:17:49Z")
I hate the Toyota commercials w/ the Flo ripoff “Jan”. ---
**Author:** ![Penfeather](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/penfeather/32/384_2.png) [@Penfeather](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Penfeather)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2014, 8:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/flo-progressive-insurance-is-a-bad-model/686789/18 "2014-04-23T20:29:39Z")
> [@you\_with\_the\_face](#): > > I don’t understand why Flo wears a smock. What’s up with that? Actually I just like to _say_ “smock”. ---
**Author:** ![Procrustus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/procrustus/32/2994_2.png) [@Procrustus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Procrustus)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2014, 8:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/flo-progressive-insurance-is-a-bad-model/686789/19 "2014-04-23T20:39:38Z")
> [@Drunky\_Smurf](#): > > I agree. I don’t know any actors who enjoy parroting scripted lines. It’s either on the fly improv or nothing. Basically all she is doing is reading. A three year old can read so it doesn’t say much about Flo. Really? Most of Shakespeare is “scripted” and actors seem to still want to do it. ---
**Author:** ![Freddy\_the\_Pig](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/a587f6/32.png) [@Freddy\_the\_Pig](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Freddy_the_Pig)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2014, 8:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/flo-progressive-insurance-is-a-bad-model/686789/20 "2014-04-23T20:41:56Z")
I can’t get past Flo’s appearance to worry about all this society stuff. I think her makeup is hideous. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/flo-progressive-insurance-is-a-bad-model/686789.md?page=2)