The Insights — S01E01
It’s interesting how life insurances seem difficult to market to people, yet you can never really run out of ideas on how to advertise it.
One of my first encounters with ads from insurance companies are the surge of Thai Insurance ads that are so full of emotion. Those ads are the best, I even downloaded some of them for professional use (as inspirations for future content) and personal use, because they are the type of ads that teach people to value someone or something in their life. That was the magic of the Thai ads — sure, foreigners will forget which company was behind it, but the values those ads have will remain.
But there are more ideas for all insurance companies and their ad agencies out there.

For one, there are different services for different groups of people. There are a variety of insurances for different goals, as well as services that fit lifestyles and economic capabilities. So, as products continue to add or develop, more advertising opportunities come in.
But I think what make life insurance advertising campaigns interesting are the stories used to connect to people. You can feature real life stories, or craft witty or emotional short videos to focus on the point you want to get across — and that is the point — to establish a community that understands your ads because you connect to each other on a deeper level. And for their current campaign, Manulife Philippines used a common misconception: that life insurances are used for accidents and deaths.
Banking on that insight, Manulife Philippines on its 110th year have created the perfect TVC to pique the interest of and connect to the public. The insight about the misconception on the use insurance companies are paired with the concept of chance — a possibility to increase the value by creating more use, and a way to project courage to people so they can start creating their own stories of success.
The campaign features three TVCs, Ring, Rockstar, and Ride.

These TVCs from Manulife and J. Walter Thomson Philippines are commendable. The first ad (Ring) from the three commercials is perfect. I think Ring TVC captures the very objective of this video campaign — to show that insurance can be used in a variety of ways, for different stories and goals in life. Exactly what Manulife and JWT Philippines wants. Ring showed another human need that Manulife can answer, apart from the usual plans and stories about life and death.
And I think the videos are getting the attention they deserve. True to its ATL form, the ads continue to generate interest from the people on the comments section. People are asking about the details of Manulife’s products and solutions, with the latter referring people to their financial advisors.
I think Ring TVC captures the very objective of this video campaign — to show that insurance can be used in a variety of ways, for different stories and goals in life.
As of this writing, the Ring TVC already has 2.4k comments, and 64k reactions on the main post alone. It also got thousands of shares, leading to a 4.7 million views. Looking at the numbers, the virality of the video on social media reflects the effectiveness of the content.
The Rockstar TVC that was posted a day after Ring got 1.7k comments, 47k reactions, and 2.6 million views. Ride TVC, on the other hand, has 602k views 13 hours after it was posted. Rockstar and Ride TVCs follow a more common form of story — although these stories still show wit and lightness.
But apart from the TVCs, the other content posted on their social media are with the same effective strategy, albeit similar with other insurance companies. It’s a content mix of inspirational quotes and updates of products and services. Though the content did not change with the TVCs, as I have said, it is still effective, getting high numbers of shares and interaction each post. Overall, I think the Manulife campaign is a success, a significant win in an unending introduction and instruction of the benefits of insurance.

But I want to end this article with more about the valuable insight Manulife and JWT used — the insight illuminates more insights and lets me expand the discussion.
True, majority of Filipinos really see that insurance is somewhat of an emergency fund or an investment to very important parts of our lives. But insurance feels like it has always been circling with accidents, death, children, and retirement. That is why I think Ring will continue to ring (pun intended) a bell whenever I think of clever ways to sell insurance, especially to a younger generation where the reality of things in life are just starting to materialize in their lives.
I don’t know if the team who made the ad also realized this when thinking of a concept, but weddings are one of those precious life moments that do not involve someone leaving permanently, in fact, it is the opposite. Furthermore, weddings are one of those moments that continue to spark wonder in us, even as children. We think of that first when we aspire to become adults, aside from working and supporting our family, and even before we think of the inevitable death.
The content is effective because we love life, and we love the idea of spending it with someone. That insight is so resounding that even if we take the insurance aspect away and give the idea to another industry, it would still work.
The content is effective because we love life, and we love the idea of spending it with someone.
In the end, the insight is spot-on. And I think one of the metrics that remains is the transformative trait an ad possesses. In the next few months or years, will it spark more ideas of packaging insurance as light yet so meaningful?
In a country that lacks the knowledge, training, and exposure to such services, I certainly hope so.


