Aflac brings on Affleck

Two famous names have long been blurred together in pop culture: Aflac and Affleck. The Columbus-based insurer and Artists Equity, the studio co-founded by Ben Affleck have unveiled a new partnership featuring the movie star and Aflac’s mascot together for the first time. Social media has exploded with comments, and most think the idea is “Just ducky.”

First teased last week through graffiti-tagged billboards across Los Angeles that Affleck marked up himself, the new 360-brand campaign features Affleck and the Aflac Duck in a series of commercials that combine entertainment and education to help Affleck and consumers understand what the Aflac name stands for: Providing added financial protection for expenses health insurance doesn’t cover.

“Few brands have the recognition, trust and cultural relevance to create a partnership like this,” said Aflac President Virgil Miller. “That’s the power of the Aflac brand. Bringing together Aflac, Ben Affleck and Artists Equity creates an opportunity to reach consumers in a memorable way while reinforcing who we are as a company and the value we provide every day. It’s a bold collaboration that elevates the strength, relevance and momentum of our brand.”

The first spot, “Green Room,” opens in a backstage green room before a shoot where the Aflac Duck and Aflac’s longtime partners, coaches Nick Saban, Deion “Coach Prime” Sanders and Dawn Staley, give Affleck an impromptu crash course on what Aflac actually does.

Click here to see the “Green Room” commercial:

https://youtu.be/4KTljq4M7kI?si=TAZssrcmh255k2PF

Driven by consumers playfully linking the Aflac and Affleck names for years, Aflac and Artists Equity decided it was time to lean into it. The outcome is a new campaign that turns the name confusion into an entertaining way to spotlight a serious topic: The financial challenges that accompany a health event and how Aflac can help provide supplemental financial protection.

Through a series of campaign commercials and supporting content rolling out across linear, digital and social platforms into next year, the organizations will work together to bring greater attention to the importance of supplemental insurance for Americans nationwide.

“Audiences have long decided that most advertising is built to be skipped, so we make advertising the way a studio makes a film: Attention has to be earned, which means we need to entertain,” said Josh Jefferis, Co-President of Advertising at Artists Equity. “Aflac already has one of the most recognizable brand icons ever created. Our job was to build a story worthy of the Aflac Duck, one with a costar who could keep up with the iconic quack. The Aflac team has been incredible to work with, and this is just the beginning.”