DDB and “I, Tonya” director help State Farm fill in blanks

State Farm's "Here to Help _____ Go Right" by DDB

State Farm’s “Here to Help _____ Go Right” by DDB

What happens when your she shed goes to smithereens when it’s sauteed by fire … after a lightning strike?

That’s the idea behind DDB Chicago’s engaging and humorous new national campaign for State Farm which broke during the season finale of NBC’s This is Us. Titled, “Here to Help _____ Go Right,” the initiative is meant to bring more meaning and context to the already successful “Here to help Life Go Right” brand platform.

Crafted by the creative team of Brian Culp, Katie Bero, Christopher Bruney and Adam Cook, each story is basically a new way to define life’s various stages for a variety of people and features real State Farm agents filling in the blank for those stages. The spots successfully use humor and the agents’ down-to-earth approachability to demonstrate the breadth of ways State Farm can help.

The agency teamed with MJZ director Craig Gillespie (I, Tonya, Lars and the Real Girl) and Hungry Man director Dave Laden to bring the fully-integrated campaign to life.

The end result is creative that sheds amusing light on a variety of insurance moments, both expected and unexpected. The State Farm agents act as nice anchors to the wackiness on the other side of the phone.

In Pothole, real-life agent Benjamin Raymond helps his customer deal with the damage to his car.

 

 

In She-Shed, State Farm agent Zach Bay tries to assure his customer that her “She-Shed” is covered after being struck by lightning.

 

 

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Each spot gives us dialogue that feels crisp, real, and unhurried, which is nice since the spots are fairly dialogue-heavy.

Here, agent Robert James shows his young customer how State Farm can help during the many stages life throws at us.

 

 

“Agents are what really set State Farm apart, so it’s been fun to pluck real ones out of their offices and shine a spotlight on their unique ability to help life go right when things go sideways. And it turns out, life can go sideways in a lot of ways,” said Mel Routhier, Executive Creative Director of DDB Chicago.

In “Awkward Photo” agent Oumar Sylla practically becomes an extension of his customer’s family as he shows them all the ways State Farm will be there to protect their home:

 

 

What’s nice as well, is that DDB and State Farm continue to pay attention to diversity in their casting which reflects the evolving demographics of the country. In “Shopping Cart,” agent Nora Vaden Holmes demonstrate the various situations in which State Farm is there to protect your vehicle, from runaway shopping carts to newly-minted teenage drivers:

 

 

“As a company, being here for our customers in expected and unexpected moments, is paramount,” said Patty Morris, Brand Content Director of State Farm. She added, “This chapter of ‘Here to help life go right’ focuses on our empathetic approach and puts our Agents front and center as a point of differentiation for our brand.” We at The Reel agree, Patty.

CREDITS:

CLIENT: STATE FARM
   Pat Culligan: AVP – Marketing
   Patty Morris: Director of Brand Content & Development
   Troy Johnson: Marketing Manager
   Jessica Soddy: Content Strategy Manager
   Tim Thomas: Marketing Analyst
   James Stahly: Marketing Analyst
   Nick Rynerson: Marketing Analyst
   Jessica Peres: Marketing Analyst

CREATIVE AGENCY: DDB CHICAGO
   Chief Creative Officer, DDB North America: Ari Weiss
   Chief Creative Officer, DDB Chicago: John Maxham
   Chief Production Officer: Diane Jackson
   Executive Creative Director: Mel Routhier
   Group Creative Director: John Hayes
   Creative Director, Art Director: Brian Culp
   Creative Director, Copywriter: Katie Bero
   Creative Director, Art Director: Christopher Bruney
   Creative Director, Copywriter: Adam Cook
   Executive Producer: Amy Turner
   Executive Producer: Mary Cheney
   Producer: Meghan Gross
   Group Strategy Director: Jesse Bayer
   Strategist: Amanda Schuneman
   Group Account Director: Ben Gladstone
   Account Director: Veronica Zamiar
   Account Supervisor: Oliver Glenn
   Account Executive: Amanda Ouellette

PRODUCTION CREDITS FOR
   “Pothole”
   “She Shed”

PRODUCTION COMPANY: MJZ
   Director: Craig Gillespie
   Executive Producer: Emma Wilcockson
   Producer: Martha Davis

EDITORIAL: WHITEHOUSE
   Editor: Matthew Wood
   Assistant Editor: Meaghan Rahamut
   Producer: Dawn Guzowski

AUDIO POST: THE STUDIO
   Audio Engineer: Nicholas Papaleo
   Audio Engineer: Justin Mayer
   Audio Producer: Cameron Aper

VFX/FINISH: 8VFX
   Executive Producer: Shira Boardman
   Producer: Ryan Dahlman
   Creative Director: Jean-Marc Demmer
   VFX/CG Supervisor: Julien Forest
   Senior Crowd TD: Tanner Owen
   Modeler: Leticia Saldana
   Rigger: Thomas Lopez
   Designer: Jaguar Lee
   Lead Flame Compositor: Talia Gleason
   Nuke Compositor: Jerry Hall

COLOR GRADING: COMPANY 3
   Colorist: Stefan Sonnenfeld
   Color Producer: Katie Andrews

MUSIC: COMMA
   Bonny Dolan – EP
   Leigh Salzman – Senior Producer
   Peter Schmidt – Composer
   Matt Kelly – Composer

PRODUCTION CREDITS FOR
   “Awkward Photo”
   “Sir Robert”
   “Shopping Cart”

PRODUCTION COMPANY: HUNGRY MAN
   Executive Producer: Caleb Dewart
   Director: Dave Laden
   Producer: Justin Diener

EDITORIAL: WHITEHOUSE
   Editor: Brain Gannon
   Executive Producer: Kristin Angeletti
   Senior Producer: Dawn Guzkowski
   Assistant Editor: Allison Marach

AUDIO POST: THE STUDIO
   Audio Engineer: Nicholas Papaleo
   Audio Engineer: Justin Mayer
   Audio Producer: Cameron Aper

POST PRODUCTION: CARBON
   Managing Director: Phil Linturn
   Senior Producer: Kate Soczka
   Creative Director: Rob Churchill

POST PRODUCTION: THE MILL
   Senior Color Producer: Liza Kerlin
   Color Artist: Matthew Osborne

MUSIC: HEAVY DUTY PROJECTS
   Executive Music Producer: Kate Urcioli
   Music Producer: Dylan Bostick

 
Have new work? Contact Colin Costello at colin@reelchicago.com or follow him on Twitter @colincostello10.