# Why do all insurance commercials have to be funny nowadays? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [March 20, 2011, 8:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-all-insurance-commercials-have-to-be-funny-nowadays/575391 "2011-03-20T20:11:39Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 6\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Raguleader](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/258eb7/32.png) [@Raguleader](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Raguleader)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2011, 10:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-all-insurance-commercials-have-to-be-funny-nowadays/575391/21 "2011-03-21T22:01:13Z")
> [@cochrane](#): > > Except for the Mayhem ads. Those crack me up. Especially the one where the guy gleefully declares “I’m a teenage girl!”😃 I like the All State (I think it’s All State?) ad where the impending accident freezeframes, and the guy talks about all the things going wrong. There’s one where a guy is driving and eating Chinese takeaway, and the spokes person casually _steals his food_ and walks off with it. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Jim\_s\_Son](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e19adc/32.png) [@Jim\_s\_Son](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jim_s_Son)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2011, 10:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-all-insurance-commercials-have-to-be-funny-nowadays/575391/22 "2011-03-21T22:20:57Z")
I remember back in the 1970s when for college football you only got one or maybe two games on ABC on Saturday (now you are inundated with them). You’d get this great colorful opening with bands, cheerleaders, teams running on the field, Chris Schenkel in his always cheerful voice. Then they’d break to their primary sponsor, an insurance commercial with some young man packing grocery shelves saying how Dad planned for him to go to college and get a degree and good job but Dad didn’t plan on dying and now he has to work this. Real downer to what should be an enjoyable afternoon. I prefer Flo. Or Yogi talking about that insurance that if your’re hurt and miss work, it doesn’t hurt to miss work because they pay you cash which is just as good as money. ---
**Author:** ![cochrane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cochrane/32/10441_2.png) [@cochrane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cochrane)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2011, 10:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-all-insurance-commercials-have-to-be-funny-nowadays/575391/23 "2011-03-21T22:42:31Z")
> [@Jim\_s\_Son](#): > > Then they’d break to their primary sponsor, an insurance commercial with some young man packing grocery shelves saying how Dad planned for him to go to college and get a degree and good job but Dad didn’t plan on dying and now he has to work this. Real downer > to what should be an enjoyable afternoon. I believe that was John Travolta in this ad or one very much like it. ---
**Author:** ![Huerta88](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/82dd89/32.png) [@Huerta88](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Huerta88)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2011, 2:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-all-insurance-commercials-have-to-be-funny-nowadays/575391/24 "2011-03-22T02:30:41Z")
> [@cochrane](#): > > They have the “University of Farmers” ads featuring J. K. Simmons playing the instructor and which include the Meat Loaf ad mentioned above. . . . . > [snip] > And Allstate has those “Mayhem” ads featuring another “Oz” and “Law and Order” alumnus, Dean Winters. Was Ryan one of the guys Schillinger raped or was that just Tobias? Now **that’d** be a funny ad . . . . Throw in Adibisi just for the Hell of it. ---
**Author:** ![Silent\_Kal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c2a13f/32.png) [@Silent\_Kal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Silent_Kal)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2011, 3:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-all-insurance-commercials-have-to-be-funny-nowadays/575391/25 "2011-03-22T03:09:56Z")
> [@Huerta88](#): > > Was Ryan one of the guys Schillinger raped or was that just Tobias? Schillinger raped Ryan O’Reilly’s brother, Cyril, who was played by Scott William Winters- Dean’s real-life brother. Thought I saw Scott on some other ad a while back, either for insurance or some lawyer… ---
**Author:** ![DaveRaver](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/daveraver/32/1078_2.png) [@DaveRaver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DaveRaver)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2011, 3:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-all-insurance-commercials-have-to-be-funny-nowadays/575391/26 "2011-03-23T03:25:05Z")
It occurred to me today that Prudential and New York Life still tend to take a strong, secure, serious tone. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-all-insurance-commercials-have-to-be-funny-nowadays/575391.md?page=1)