State Farm cancels Super Bowl ad as LA wildfires continue

State Farm is not moving forward with a planned Super Bowl spot as the Los Angeles wildfires continue into their second week, a spokeswoman confirmed to Ad Age on Wednesday. The insurer had planned to run a second consecutive Big Game spot following last year’s starring turn for Arnold Schwarzenegger as Agent State Farm. Now, it is focusing on residents who are impacted by some of the largest fires to ever hit California. “State Farm, State Farm agents, and our employees are all focused on helping customers impacted by the Southern California wildfires in the midst of this tragedy,” the company shared in a statement, noting that the brand serves more than 8 million customers in California. “Our claims force is the largest in the industry and we are bringing the full scale and force of our catastrophe response teams to help customers recover—whether they are on the ground in LA or across the country.” State Farm noted that its customer contact is currently at 90%; it has received more than 7,400 home and auto claims, a figure it expects to rise as more California residents return to their homes. The claims figure already exceeds a report from earlier today that found that State Farm had already received 6,700 claims related to the LA wildfires. The brand added, “Our focus is firmly on providing support to the people of Los Angeles. We will not be advertising during the game.” Fox should not have a hard time filling the slot. Earlier this week, the network said it has created a waitlist for brands looking for Big Game inventory following “unprecedented demand.” Recent news: LA wildfires disrupt the ad industry The news comes as State Farm faces public scrutiny. The largest insurer in California, State Farm has recently been criticized amid the Los Angeles wildfires after the company canceled thousands of California home insurance policies last spring. Many of those cancellations are in areas such as the Palisades that are currently affected by the fires. Amid the backlash last week, State Farm said, “Our number one priority right now is the safety of our customers, agents and employees impacted by the fires and assisting our customers in the midst of this tragedy.” The brand’s website encourages customers with damage to file a claim. Last year’s Agent State Farm campaign, which was created with Highdive and also included a cameo by Danny DeVito, won USA Today’s Super Bowl Ad Meter. Before 2024, the insurer was last in the game in 2021, its Super Bowl debut. It pursued a social media-first strategy in 2022 and 2023. Super Bowl commercials Tracking the latest brand and agency plans Click here

State Farm cancels Super Bowl ad as LA wildfires continue

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