2008: Progressive's Flo hits screens
This marketing moment was chosen by Sean McBride, executive creative director, Arnold Worldwide.
Progressive Flo
One of the best parts of developing the ‘Flo’ campaign was that we were given the time to nd the right voice. We got to learn what was working and what wasn’t – something you don’t often get in this business.
Watching the rst spots in the campaign is a bit like watching the rst few episodes of a sitcom; we hadn’t found the beats yet, they’re too sincere, too straight. Once we started giving her a little cynicism to humanize her, and once we started making fun of ourselves to humanize the company, the whole thing just took o . The best part of having a spokesperson that’s ridiculously optimistic is the laughs you get when she unexpectedly goes dark.
Also, ‘Flo’ was probably the rst spokesperson in advertising history where you could track her rise to fame via social media – you could literally watch her become culturally relevant, every morning, when you sat down at
your desk. We’ve tried to use that to our advantage, and made a point of keeping her in culture, whether that was a celebrity cameo, or spoo ng a TV genre with her at the center of it.
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