People love to watch crime dramas; insurance ads, not so much. But New Zealand insurer Partners Life has found a clever way to combine the somewhat morbid theme that connects the two; it's reminding viewers of the importance of taking out life insurance via dead characters from popular TV series about murders.

In a campaign from Special Group New Zealand, over the past six weeks Partners Life ads aired at the end of each episode of whodunnit drama "The Brokenwood Mysteries." One person is killed off every week in the six part series, but the ads resurrect the dead characters to integrate the storyline into the ads.

For example, following the first episode, viewers saw actress Meryl Main, who played Janis, the first murder victim of the series, looking down at the camera and saying saying, “Well this is unexpected...what are my boys going to do without their mummy now. Sorry lads, there’s no life insurance policy."

Each spot ends by encouraging viewers to "plan ahead and get life right" with Partners Life. 

"New Zealand is, unfortunately, one of the most under-insured countries in the world," explained Naomi Ballantyne, managing director at Partners Life, in a statement. "We want to change that and help Kiwis to understand just how important life insurance is. We know there’s a lot of apathy when it comes to insurance, so were eager to ensure this campaign was one that stuck with audiences."

"This is an idea that died and came back to life, about characters who die and come back to life, but it was important to find the right series to partner with," added Lisa Fedyszyn, executive creative director at Special New Zealand. "The team at South Pacific Pictures were so collaborative and inviting, and we appreciate the opportunity to jump on the back of this extremely popular show."