US Creative Work of the Week: Man carries weight of the world in poignant State Farm ad about volunteering
For years, State Farm has been touting itself as an insurance company that’s akin to a good neighbor. Now, the company is taking its message one step further by asking people to embody its “good neighbor” spirit and volunteer in their own local communities.
The insurance giant is kicking off this drive with a TV spot called “The Following” that features a man who can’t seem to shake the sadness he feels when he sees a subway poster for a rescue dog that needs adopted. The extent of his sadness is realized when viewers see that the dog is following the man around wherever he goes, serving as a constant reminder to him that it still needs a home.
As the spot continues, similar scenarios keep happening. After “liking” a Facebook post about Veteran’s Day at work, he looks up and sees a veteran sitting next to him at the office. Later in the spot, a dejected teenager appears in the restaurant he’s eating at after he watches a news clip about school dropout rates.
By the end of the spot, the man has amassed a following that includes homeless men and women, a child with cancer and even a polar bear, all of which represent different causes that he could volunteer his time to. When it all gets to be too much, he decides to walk into a Youth Outreach Community Mentoring Center so he can stop simply caring and start actually making an impact.
“You can lift the weight of caring by doing,” a voiceover says at the end of the spot. Created by DDB Chicago, the ad has been voted by readers as US Creative Work of the Week.
The spot encourages people to visit NeighborhoodofGood.com, where they can explore different volunteering opportunities in their area. Joy Williams, who covered The Chainsmoker’s hit “Don’t Let Me Down” for the spot, is donating a portion of her proceeds from the song to the American Red Cross.
If you’d like to vote for next week’s US Creative Work of the Week, visit our US Creative Works here. To keep up to date with all the advertising, design and creative projects from around the globe visit our Creative Works homepage.