I find with Drunky Smurf and PSXer, if you assume that they’re taking the piss every time they post, you’ll almost never be wrong.
Flo was an answer in the Sunday crossword to “white clad insurance spokeswoman.”
Flo is a mascot of species ‘human’ with gender ‘female’. She can be dropped tomorrow and would have never have existed except in the corporate archives.
Yes,Shakespeare is exactly the same as pitching a consumer product on television.
“Alas Poor Yorick
I knew him Horatio,
A fellow of infinite jest.
Too bad he didn’t check his rates with Progressive before he went to the other guys”
That poor fucker Grimace is an even worse role model. He drank so many milkshakes he’s turned into a purple blob, and he is still out there shilling for McDonalds. He must be paid in heroin or something.
THAT is what you should be concerned about, not Flo.
Well, if Antonio in The Merchant of Venice had had marine insurance, the play would have turned out quite differently:
[QUOTE=Shylock]
But ships are but boards, sailors but men; there be land rats and water rats, water thieves and land thieves — I mean pirates — and then there is the peril of waters, winds, and rocks. Trust Progressive Marine Insurance. Less than a pound of flesh.
[/QUOTE]
According to this Celebrity Net Worth site, she makes $500,000 / yr and has a net worth of $3 Million.
She is doing all right in America.
John Hodgman (the “I’m a PC” guy)* managed to parlay his bit as a recognizable corporate spokesman to a more successful career. So it doesn’t seem to be the career killer you imagine.
*(I always thought those commercials were ill-advized for Apple. The guy who was supposed to tell you how cool Apples were came off as kinda smarmy, while Hodgman’s loveable nerd schtick seemed more fun and memorable.)
The President and CEO of Planter’s is an even worse role model. He ate so many peanuts he turned into a peanut!
If you consider a character in a TV commercial to be a role model, you really need to look harder in real life to find role models.
To portray an old-timey friendly neighborhood grocer rather than a stuffy, high-pressure insurance agent.
It’s mainly to show that:
- Buying Progressive insurance is EASY. It’s just like walking into a store, picking up what you want, and checking out with it.
- Insurance is a commodity. All the little boxes are the same. You should buy it based on price alone. Then they send the message that Progressive has the lowest price.
- You don’t have to call up a bunch of insurance agents, make an appointment, sit through an interview where you answer a lot of personal questions, and then have to put up with a high-pressure sales pitch for auto insurance plus ten other policies you didn’t know you needed. Switching insurance companies is as easy as walking into a store!
- They have a variety of self-service choices for coverage. Just like choosing a candy bar with or without nuts.
- All you need is on their web site. They show you other company prices, so no need to shop around. Switching insurance companies is as easy as clicking and checking out.
Have you ever seen pictures of her when she’s not playing Flo? She looks enough different that if she gets a role for something else people aren’t going to see her and make the automatic connection you’re talking about.
Flo rides motorcycles.
Improbable!!
The character of Flo originally had a bit of an edge to her personality that suggested she knew there was an element of BS to what she was doing. Near the end of this early ad she says something to indicate that she knows she’s just a cog in someone else’s machine. Over time this aspect of her character faded, and now she’s just a corporate drone.
These are the drivers you’re gonna want to steer clear of on the road. If possible.
Don’t knock her smock or she’ll clean your clock.
Ohhhh. Thanks, Alley Dweller, I get it now!
My megacorp employer just had a meeting where they wanted to create a marketing campaign using her as an example, and I couldn’t agree more with what the original poster mentioned.
I used to be gung-ho with my employer first out of college, then the recession hit, I saw how greedy companies became, and I was laid off, although I did see some decent policy changes that didn’t make them super terrible.
Either way, my reviews for this place show I’m an above average employee, and I could care less about the company. I don’t volunteer for anything, don’t make suggestions, don’t go out of my way, just do what they tell me to do and spend the rest of my day slacking around (which is awesome since I telecommute). Sadly I’ll be more successful at this place than my first where I was a go-getter. Maybe I should be the model for their marketing campaign!