Building on its lineup of comedic campaigns including “Limu the Emu” and “Truth Tellers,” Liberty Mutual is now turning to well-trod marketing tropes to promote its home insurance in its latest campaign from Goodby Silverstein & Partners. 

A series of ads rely on familiar ad tactics like “nostalgia,” “exciting stunts,” and “slapstick humor” in order to make memorable its offering of allowing consumers to “only pay for what you need.”

The kick-off spot features a holiday theme and shows a retro scene shot on camcorder of a boy ripping open his Christmas present—Liberty Mutual home insurance—as his brother sulks after getting only a bike.

Continuing the nostalgia theme, there are six-second ads as well, including one featuring a spokesperson in ultra-wide bootleg jeans kicking a hackeysack about. 

Another 30-second ad depicts blockbuster-style action inside a family home—a boy slides across the kitchen counter past fireballs, while Granny busts through the walls in her mobility scooter.
 

Another spot embracing “non-so-subtle” humor depicts people enduring ridiculous injuries, like getting smacked by newspapers and fish. 

The campaign, titled “Something to Help You Remember,” was created out of Goodby Silvertein & Partners’ New York office, which has quietly reopened during the pandemic after having shuttered back in 2015. “People are really familiar with the ad tropes the industry uses to make campaigns memorable,” said GS&P creative director Cam Miller in a statement. “Wo we wanted to find some humor in being extremely transparent about that by telling them what we’re about to show them and then making it even more over-the-top than they were expecting.” 

The spots were directed by Steve Ayson via MJZ, known for his offbeat antic for brands including Old Spice, Dollar Shave Club and Nike.