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August 11, 2016

Progressive’s Flo Rides On

consumer-brand-Progressive

In Progressive’s recent print ads, Flo is rocking an edgy new look. When AdWeek covered the new “Chrome Thrones” campaign, its focus was on the “tongue-in-cheek” and “goofy” nature of the ads.

While the ads are kind of funny, especially when compared to Flo’s usual preppy aesthetic, the campaign is so much more than kitsch. The ads are an attempt to speak to a group of consumers that Flo’s other look just can’t.

A Look Back, A Bad Look

Take the 2014 Progressive motorcycle ad. Flo appears in her usual all-white getup looking uncomfortable and out of place on her bike. She seems more like a pest than a compatriot to the other bikers in the ad and certainly not someone they would take seriously.

Fundamentally, that’s an issue. Sure, it’s kind of funny to watch Flo bumble her way through a dirt track, but what the ad is effectively saying to motorcyclists is that Flo isn’t “one of them.” And if Flo can’t understand them, neither can Progressive. It shows a lack of knowledge about the audience it’s trying to reach.

Flo 2.0

Every issue with the 2014 ad in this respect is reversed in the 2016 print campaign. The campaign features three different “Chrome Thrones” made out of motorcycle parts. Each throne is made from, and made to resemble, a specific type of bike. There’s a sport bike, a touring bike and a cruiser. Flo – the “sovereign of speed,” the “crowned queen of combustion” and the “princess of pistons” – sits proudly on each while announcing Progressive as the ruler of the world of motorcycle insurance.

The campaign speaks directly to its market. Flo has ditched her white suit for black leather and her perky smile for a smoldering stare. It shows that there is another side to Progressive that motorcyclists might not have known was there before. Progressive knows that not all motorcycles are created equal and shows a deeper knowledge of, and appreciation for, the motorcycling world. It’s the kind of familiarity that finally tells bikers that Progressive is “one of them” and in being such, will work for them.

The Takeaway

In the “making of” video, one of the artists behind the thrones may have said it best, “the person who really rides that type of bike is going to be stoked.” By introducing a new facet to Flo’s personality, Progressive is leveraging the fact the consumers have more trust in brands that have similar personalities to their own. With just a touch of leather and chrome, Flo 2.0 has transformed Progressive from outsider to true biker insider.