# Flo, The Progressive Insurance Chick **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [April 12, 2009, 4:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/flo-the-progressive-insurance-chick/492856 "2009-04-12T16:58:17Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![Shawn1767](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ee7513/32.png) [@Shawn1767](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shawn1767)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2009, 5:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/flo-the-progressive-insurance-chick/492856/61 "2009-04-16T17:43:38Z")
I am a little surprised that anyone actually finds this character attractive. To me, she looks like either an alien who is trying to disguise herself as a human, but hasn’t gotten it right (Vincent D’onofrio in Men in Black) or some sort of love child between a human and one of the Puttermans from those Duracell commercials. [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=soLNQDyC6c4&feature=related](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=soLNQDyC6c4&feature=related) ---
**Author:** ![Quasimodem](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/e274bd/32.png) [@Quasimodem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quasimodem)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2009, 10:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/flo-the-progressive-insurance-chick/492856/62 "2009-04-16T22:44:05Z")
> [@joebuck20](#): > > Me too. Mainly, I just want a quick roll in the hay with her. Without messing up the bouffaint, of course. Be sure to actually “ **suck** face”, otherwise you’ll slip right off those lips and off the other side of that slick, shiny skin! 😉 Q ---
**Author:** ![Quasimodem](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/e274bd/32.png) [@Quasimodem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quasimodem)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2009, 10:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/flo-the-progressive-insurance-chick/492856/63 "2009-04-16T22:53:46Z")
> [@Shawn1767](#): > > To me, she looks like either an alien who is trying to disguise herself as a human, but hasn’t gotten it right ] **Dude**! You _nailed_ her! I guffawed outta both ends when I read that. How perceptive! Kudos! 🙂 Q ---
**Author:** ![Clothahump](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/51bf81/32.png) [@Clothahump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Clothahump)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2009, 11:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/flo-the-progressive-insurance-chick/492856/64 "2009-04-16T23:30:46Z")
> [@mobo85](#): > > I have to agree with this. I’ve seen some of the Flo ads, but I really didn’t think that much of them either way. After reading this thread, I decided to look at the ads on [Progressive’s official YouTube channel](http://www.youtube.com/progressive). Disregarding the fact that Flo appears to work in a supermarket in the Matrix that only sells insurance, she appears to be an enigmatic character. Her '50s-housewife hairdo and uniform give her an air of professionalism, yet her comedic sayings and Chuck Taylor tennis shoes give her a bit of a tomboy quality. She seems to be a character who has an air of authority- sort of a Madge the Manicurist or Josephine the Plumber type- yet she also seems to be a type of person who seems to be fun to be around. It’s a sort of character we haven’t really seen in advertising for years- the friendly, knowledgable spokesperson. I think this is part of her appeal- it gives Progressive an air of trust as well as a persona as “the friendly insurance company.” There’s one commercial that shows her walking away from us, so add the fact that she has a cute butt to the list. ---
**Author:** ![handsomeharry](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e9c0ed/32.png) [@handsomeharry](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/handsomeharry)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2009, 10:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/flo-the-progressive-insurance-chick/492856/65 "2009-04-18T22:43:51Z")
I think that the appeal is because she looks cheap and desperate-a kind of neglected milf, which makes her an easy target, when we are on the hunt. Also, she’s undefined, because we don’t know how her body is shaped, and that arouses our interest, ergo, our libido. ---
**Author:** ![drastic\_quench](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e36b37/32.png) [@drastic\_quench](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drastic_quench)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2009, 10:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/flo-the-progressive-insurance-chick/492856/66 "2009-04-18T22:47:34Z")
I read somewhere that she was one of the founding members of the comedy group The Groundlings. It would explain her excellent timing and quirky expressions. ---
**Author:** ![Gfactor](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/9de053/32.png) [@Gfactor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gfactor)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2009, 10:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/flo-the-progressive-insurance-chick/492856/67 "2009-04-18T22:57:05Z")
> [@drastic\_quench](#): > > I read somewhere that she was one of the founding members of the comedy group The Groundlings. It would explain her excellent timing and quirky expressions. She was a member, but certainly not a founder. The Groundlings was formed in 1974: > **[The Groundlings](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Groundlings)** > > The Groundlings is an American improvisational and sketch comedy troupe and school based in Los Angeles, California. The troupe was formed by Gary Austin in 1974 and uses an improv format influenced by Viola Spolin, whose improv techniques were taught by Del Close and other members of the Second City, located in Chicago. They used these techniques to produce sketches and improvised scenes. Its name is taken from Shakespeare's Hamlet, Act III, Scene II: "...to split the ears of the groundlings, [http://www.groundlings.com/start.htm](http://www.groundlings.com/start.htm) She was born in 1970: [Stephanie Courtney - Wikipedia](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stephanie_Courtney) ---
**Author:** ![JohnT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnt/32/15048_2.png) [@JohnT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JohnT)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2009, 12:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/flo-the-progressive-insurance-chick/492856/68 "2009-04-19T00:29:20Z")
Count me as another who finds her hawt. It’s something about the eyes… ---
**Author:** ![SenorBeef](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/senorbeef/32/2220_2.png) [@SenorBeef](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SenorBeef)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2009, 8:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/flo-the-progressive-insurance-chick/492856/69 "2009-04-20T20:07:05Z")
She is striking and memorable. I gave some thought as to why, and I came up with that she’s clownish. The extreme makeup, the exaggerated expressions, the excess energy and cadence… she’s similar to a clown in some ways. Or the exaggerated way that parents will, when talking to their infant, make faces and baby talk. She appeals on a very basic level, not necesarily sexually. But… if she does strike you sexually, then you clearly want to have sex with your parents and a clown at the same time. And it’s easy to see the appeal of that, right? ---
**Author:** ![Shirley\_Ujest](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/45deac/32.png) [@Shirley\_Ujest](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shirley_Ujest)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2009, 10:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/flo-the-progressive-insurance-chick/492856/70 "2009-04-20T22:37:31Z")
> [@Markxxx](#): > > She isn’t nearly as good as the “[FreeCreditReport.Com](http://FreeCreditReport.Com)” guy [Eric Violette](http://www.ericviolette.com/). He looks like Heath Ledger and Michael Keaton had a baby together. ---
**Author:** ![Mister\_Rik](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mister_rik/32/491_2.png) [@Mister\_Rik](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mister_Rik)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2009, 11:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/flo-the-progressive-insurance-chick/492856/71 "2009-04-20T23:31:06Z")
Is the guy in [this Progressive commercial](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DPhq_gC9pZs) the same guy seen in [this Jeep Liberty commercial?](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yTLcZ1BCmms) ---
**Author:** ![Quasimodem](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/e274bd/32.png) [@Quasimodem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quasimodem)\ **Post date:** [April 21, 2009, 3:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/flo-the-progressive-insurance-chick/492856/72 "2009-04-21T03:13:09Z")
Good Eye, **Mister Rik**.😉 Plus, that’s a damn funny commercial (the JEEP) Bil ---
**Author:** ![Mister\_Rik](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mister_rik/32/491_2.png) [@Mister\_Rik](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mister_Rik)\ **Post date:** [April 21, 2009, 6:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/flo-the-progressive-insurance-chick/492856/73 "2009-04-21T06:24:11Z")
I also think it’s quite fetching the way she says “Yeah!” after the customer says “Seriously?” in [this commercial](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5s10MDxVqSM). ---
**Author:** ![panache45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/panache45/32/64_2.png) [@panache45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panache45)\ **Post date:** [April 21, 2009, 2:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/flo-the-progressive-insurance-chick/492856/74 "2009-04-21T14:33:49Z")
Funny, I have found her totally irritating from the start. It’s probably something simple, like the makeup and hair, but I just can’t watch her. ---
**Author:** ![mobo85](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b19c9b/32.png) [@mobo85](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mobo85)\ **Post date:** [April 21, 2009, 3:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/flo-the-progressive-insurance-chick/492856/75 "2009-04-21T15:41:47Z")
> [@Mister\_Rik](#): > > I also think it’s quite fetching the way she says “Yeah!” after the customer says “Seriously?” in [this commercial](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5s10MDxVqSM). Is it as fetching for [six minutes straight](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3a3yOirCiiY)? ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [September 8, 2009, 11:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/flo-the-progressive-insurance-chick/492856/76 "2009-09-08T23:10:05Z")
It’s a craze, I tells ya: [http://www.cleveland.com/tv/index.ssf/2009/09/progressives\_flo\_takes\_on\_geik.html](http://www.cleveland.com/tv/index.ssf/2009/09/progressives_flo_takes_on_geik.html) ---
**Author:** ![Contrapuntal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e274bd/32.png) [@Contrapuntal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Contrapuntal)\ **Post date:** [September 8, 2009, 11:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/flo-the-progressive-insurance-chick/492856/77 "2009-09-08T23:30:28Z")
> [@Beware\_of\_Doug](#): > > Of course, you’re judging by the one, the _only_, non-Flo picture of Stephanie Courtney ever made public. Which ain’t bad, but still, it’s _one_ picture. What do you mean by “made public?” You can certainly find more than one by doing a Google search. ---
**Author:** ![Quasimodem](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/e274bd/32.png) [@Quasimodem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quasimodem)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2009, 2:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/flo-the-progressive-insurance-chick/492856/78 "2009-09-09T02:32:58Z")
Wonder if she has a **WoW** toon?🙂 I think I may be falling in love with her and want her to _chastise_ me for buying my **in** surance with Allstate! I also want Christiane Amanpour to spank me, but if she can’t make it, I’ll take Flo instead! I am **JOKING** , okay, Ogdammit?:D:D:D Plus, my wife would kill me if she saw I wrote this! Know what she’d say? “You need to go to the _altar_ this Sunday, Bill!” I **love** that about her! She is so _precious_ in her thoughts and deeds and she’s the “nurse” for our WHOLE family! She takes her brother and sister to doctor’s appointments, answers questions about medical issues for all our other relatives, takes care of **my** sorry ass, and **STILL** works as a respiratory therapist in a sleep center! She likes my sense of humor, I think. Couldn’t be anything _else_! Too ugly and sarcastic to have any other redeeming qualities.🙂 And thanks for digging up this old thread, **Elendil’s Heir**!🙂 I feel honored. Thanks Quasi ---
**Author:** ![movingfinger](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/7ab992/32.png) [@movingfinger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/movingfinger)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2009, 5:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/flo-the-progressive-insurance-chick/492856/79 "2009-09-09T05:23:10Z")
I still prefer the secret agent babe with the fuschia-colored hair in the E-surance commercials. What; she’s a cartoon? I hadn’t noticed. Doesn’t matter; she’s still hot. ---
**Author:** ![FordTaurusSHO94](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/f07891/32.png) [@FordTaurusSHO94](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FordTaurusSHO94)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2009, 6:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/flo-the-progressive-insurance-chick/492856/80 "2009-09-09T06:02:45Z")
Erin E-surance is hot, but I hate the way she says, “don’t forget the good STUDENT discount.” [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/flo-the-progressive-insurance-chick/492856.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/flo-the-progressive-insurance-chick/492856.md?page=5)