Being good at life isn't as simple as waking up and going through the motions. According to a new campaign from New York Life Insurance, it also means taking care of your financial future. The New York-based mutual life insurance company will debut "Be Good At Life" this Saturday with a spot starring comedian Demetri Martin.
"We have made a choice to focus more specifically on the maturing millennials market because we believe it's so important to break through and win their attention to encourage our ability to grow and their ability to have access to financial security," said Kelli Parsons, senior VP-chief communications and marketing officer at New York Life. She noted that Mr. Martin, who has signed on for the first introductory spot but may appear in more, is broadly appealing to audiences from millennials to baby boomers.
The new push is the insurer's first campaign since 2012's "Keep Good Going" and represents its first creative work from New York-based Anomaly, which New York Life named its agency of record late last year. The "Keep Good Going" tagline will be retired.
In Saturday's commercial, which will air nationally in 60-, 30-, and 15-second versions, a woman is agonizing through childbirth as her husband frets nearby. The camera continually cuts to Mr. Martin calmly gardening. He urges prospective parents to save for college tuition but reassures them that "New York Life can help manage your family's future."
New York Life is also rolling out a website refresh from its digital agency Code and Theory. The new campaign will include a significant digital push and some out-of-home ads in markets including New York. The company, which has 12,000 agents, worked with Weber Shandwick for PR and MediaVest Spark for media duties.
Though Ms. Parsons declined to specify how much New York Life is spending on the new campaign, she noted it is an increase in investment over prior campaigns. Last year, the company spent $70.5 million on measured media in the U.S., according to Kantar Media. The company is also investing heavily in data analytics to ensure it is able to pivot when necessary with its marketing.
New York Life reported operating earnings of $1.9 billion for 2015, compared with $2 billion for 2014. Life insurance sales totaled $1.3 billion, a record.
