Humpback whales are back in new Pacific Life Insurance Co. commercials that debuted this month during the first nationally televised games of the college football regular season on ABC.
“Flukes” is a 30-second spot that associates unique markings on whales’ tails to the company’s “flexible” retirement and insurance offerings. Another spot, “Choices,” talks about a decision to protect humpback whales and about their recovery from near extinction, suggesting that making a right choice today about one’s long-term financial future could have a similar outcome “and preserve your legacy.” The third spot, “Tail Slaps,” shows the gentle giants thrashing the ocean water with their tails to the rhythm of the “Pacific Life Fight Song.”
The ads are airing throughout the college football regular season on ESPN2, the Fox network, and during select golf tournaments. Other media buys include “NCIS,” “60 Minutes,” “Sunday Morning News” and “Evening News” shows on CBS; “Nightly News” on NBC; “World News” and “This Week” on ABC; and “The Kelly File” and “The O’Reilly Factor” on the Fox News Channel.
Pacific Life uses an in-house approach to TV advertising, working with agencies on a project basis on creative concepts, according to the company.
Credit Skill
“Credit isn’t just a score. It’s a skill,” is the message Costa Mesa-based Experian Plc is trying to convey with its recent marketing campaign. Its TV ads feature several misadventures—a baby falling while taking its first steps, a little boy crashing while learning to ride a bike without training wheels, a Little Leaguer trying to catch a fly ball, a young man missing a dunk, a skateboarder crashing on a ramp. But they all eventually master their skills, and according to Experian, having good credit is no different.
The 15- and 30-second commercials, created by the Martin Agency, are airing on TNT, “Teenage Newlyweds” and “Food Paradise,” among other programing.
Brand Ambassadors
Disneyland Resort in Anaheim chose employees Mikey Trujillo and Alexa Garcia for its 2017-18 ambassador team to represent the resort and its 29,000 cast members.
The ambassadors will spend two years “bringing the magic of the Disneyland Resort into the community and beyond as emissaries of goodwill” full time, the company said, including participating at “VoluntEARS activities, cast recognition ceremonies and special promotions, in addition to serving as Disneyland Resort spokespersons and hosting dignitaries and VIPs.”
Walt Disney started the ambassador program in 1965 as “support for public appearances, interviews and other special requests.”
Ladera Site
Ladera Ranch Community Services hired The Buddy Group in Irvine to revamp LaderaLife.com, which will resurface with updates later this year.
The website, accessible primarily to the Ladera Ranch master-planned community in South Orange County, was introduced in 2000. It serves as an event and message board, allowing residents to post items for sale and to communicate with each other. The refresher was needed, as the site predates “the mass adoption of Facebook and other social sites,” and the agency plans to “deliver a more relevant, user-friendly experience,” according to founder and Chief Executive Pete Deutschman.
The agency’s clients include Western Digital, AARP and Dell.
Bits & Pieces
Youth Employment Service, a nonprofit organization that helps young people “pave roads to economic independence,” plans to honor Mother’s Market & Kitchen in Costa Mesa as an employer that has provided life-changing opportunities to its program graduates, on Oct. 6 during An Evening of Excellence annual fundraiser. … The Internet Marketing Association in San Clemente plans to host an IMPACT16 event in Las Vegas on Sept. 19 and 20. The conference is focused on the latest advancements in internet marketing, organizational leadership and innovation. The speaker lineup includes Jim Squires, director of marketing operations at Instagram; Suzanne Valentine, chief data scientist at IBM Commerce; Brian Calle, opinion editor at the Orange County Register in Santa Ana; and EDM artist Steve Aoki.
