Citing Los Angeles wildfires, State Farm cancels Super Bowl ad, delays ‘Severance’ tie-in points
Citing the Los Angeles wildfires, insurer State Farm has canceled plans to run an ad in next month’s Super Bowl and has delayed production of a campaign tied to the Apple TV+ series. to cut.
The Super Bowl ad marked a return to the big game for the insurance company, whose show last year starring Arnold Schwarzenegger and Danny DeVito ranked as one of the best-received spots during broadcast television. She finished first USA TodayAdMeter viewer survey.
No details have yet been revealed about this year’s anticipated Super Bowl ad, but conditions in Southern California have complicated the look of a multi-million-dollar, 30-second meme. For more than a week, State Farm has been grappling with a rapidly developing fire situation. The disaster killed at least 25 people, destroyed 12,000 buildings, and forced tens of thousands of people to evacuate for a second week.
State Farm is California’s largest insurer and will be a major player in expected recovery efforts that have yet to materially begin. Insurance industry experts project Insured losses range from $15 billion to $40 billion, with economic losses ranging from $150 billion to $275 billion.
“Our first priority now is the safety of our customers, agents and employees affected by the fires and assisting our customers in the midst of this tragedy,” State Farm said in a statement.
Fox Sports declined to comment on the Super Bowl ad when contacted by Deadline. Fox has been selling out of its inventory for months, so it will find a surplus of willing buyers on the waiting list.
State Farm representatives did not respond to requests for additional comment from Deadline.
Ad age He was the first to report that the Super Bowl ad had been cancelled. Advertising Week It was also reported that the Super Bowl was pulled and got the initial news that State Farm will temporarily halt production of a series of co-branded spots associated with the second season of to cut. State Farm’s on-screen Jake interacts with characters from the series and was scheduled to appear in the premiere of the new season in Los Angeles last week, which was canceled due to the fires.
While it is possible that these cross-marketing messages will arrive later in the new season, such as with the Super Bowl, it is difficult to predict the community and media environment that will exist in a few weeks. Although the episode did not cause significant damage to State Farm, the NFL’s decision to move the LA Rams’ playoff game against the Minnesota Vikings from SoFi Stadium in Los Angeles to State Farm Stadium in Glendale, AZ, generated a notable amount From negative chatter on social media. Even before the fires, State Farm had attracted scrutiny for stopping coverage for 72,000 homes and apartments last summer, blaming the spiraling costs of covering fires and other disasters. Word also surfaced several days ago that the company dropped 1,600 policies in Pacific Palisades in July and another 2,000 policies in two other Los Angeles zip codes.
While scripted drama is a world away from the Super Bowl, Belonging to to cut It also brings brand sensibilities, especially for Apple’s subtle, legendary vanguards. Although Apple TV+ is an ad-free subscription service, a number of advertisers were attracted to the tone of the series, which has received critical acclaim despite its sometimes violent and explicit scenes. The promotional campaign for Season 2 continues to generate buzz. Marketers held a daring display Tuesday at New York’s Grand Central Station, where cast members Adam Scott, Brett Lauer and Zach Cherry appeared as their characters in a pop-up glass cube.
One source familiar with Super Bowl buying and selling trends told Deadline that no other brands in the insurance category — a powerful category for sports — appear poised to follow State Farm to the sidelines on Fox broadcasts.
