State Farm Memo

The purpose of this memo is to present my impressions about the State Farm® Insurance commercial called “Jingle 2.0 shopping.” (State Farm Insurance)
Summary
In general, the professional look and feel of the commercial is very appealing when compared to competitors. The informal approach and comedic theme is pleasant for most people. However, when seriously analyzed the commercial techniques may be unethical, and even unfair to other companies in the insurance market.
Discussion
State Farm® Insurance has a strong media presence. I believe that virtually everyone has seen and remember at least one of the funny State Farm® commercials, either on regular TV or through online media services that support videos, including YouTube, Facebook, and others. Although the commercials are humorous, when someone needs to contact or file a claim with their insurance company, the situation is serious. Therefore, how the company is presenting its name should be seriously taken into consideration, and its underlying message should be argued.

It is uncommon for someone to sit in front of the TV and act like a judge for every single commercial.

After all, TV is part of most people’s leisure time. State Farm® Insurance commercials can also be entertaining, including the commercial called “Jingle 2.0 shopping” which is publically available on YouTube through State Farm® official channel. During the short commercial, two ladies are shopping, both of them finds something they like, and one says, “Like a good neighbor, State Farm® is there.” Almost instantly, “Anthony” appears and the lady asks about her discount. “About 150,” Anthony replied. Later, the second lady says, “I don’t have State Farm®, but insurance find me money.” Again, almost instantly, an elder man appears and say, “I got you a

dollar.”
Although the commercial may be entertaining, when questioning State Farm®’s motive and the message it is trying to send to the audience, many possible scenarios can be explored. The phrase, “Like a good neighbor, State Farm® is there” can create a false assimilation that State Farm® is as helpful and present as someone good neighbor which may not be the case for many. However, when researching about State Farm®’s overall satisfaction rating, the amount of public complaints and dissatisfaction is rated among the highest. In the ConsumerAffairs website, State Farm® Insurance has one out of five stars based on 311 ratings. (ConsumerAffairs) The American Association of Justice (AAJ) rated State Farm® the fourth between the ten worst insurance companies in America and claimed that, “As the biggest property casualty insurance company in America, State Farm® has become notorious for its deny and delay tactics. In many cases, the company has gone to extreme lengths to avoid paying claims, including forging signatures on earthquake waivers after the deadly Northridge earthquake, and altering engineering reports regarding damage after Hurricane Katrina.“(American Association of Justice)
The “Jingle 2.0 shopping” commercial may imply that State Farm® give more benefits, or more money to its customer than other insurance companies by including in the commercial that elder man offering “a dollar” to someone that “don’t have State Farm® . . .” During the commercial, State Farm® does not present any evidences to support that it pays more than other insurance companies, therefore, the commercial is somewhat unethical and unfair to other insurance companies. State Farm® could have been more ethical by presenting evidence and fact during the commercial to validate its message.
Recommendation
I would like to talk to you about how we could inform others in regards to this possible unethical message being transmitted by State Farm® Insurance. Please contact me by phone at 412-706-3291 to discuss further actions.