Prudential: targeting people that 'DO' since 2019

Still feeling fresh after the Christmas and New Year hibernation period (and extra positive after yesterday's review of a new Harbin Beer ad), Ad Nut checked the inbox this morning and pulled out a fresh Asia campaign and ‘brand commitment’ from the British life insurance firm Prudential, which operates in 12 markets here.

First up, the new ‘commitment’ (also known as a slogan): “Listening. Understanding. Delivering.” Not, admittedly, a major break from the previous slogan—“Always Listening. Always Understanding.”—but clearly the latter was felt to lack a sense of proactivity, and possibly was thought to sound slightly more like a therapist rather than a life insurance company. In an age where all insurance firms are attempting to reposition themselves as digitally savvy companies that care (see Manulife, which recently made public the results of its two-year brand overhaul, as well as AIA's recently reworked brand promise), getting this active message across is important.

Ad Nut feels that ‘Delivering’ is most likely one of those marketing-speak words that consumers fail to connect with unless it relates to their letters and parcels, but it does at least come with a sense of purpose.

That is backed up with minimal subtlety in 'We DO", the accompanying new TV, newspaper, outdoor and online campaign by Dentsu Singapore that launches today across 10 markets. “Prudential is the insurer for the people who DO” affirms Anthony Shaw, chief customer and marketing officer for Prudential Corporation Asia. (Ad Nut idly wonders about the difference between ‘people who do’ and ‘people who DO’. Prudential clearly understands the nuances.) "'We DO' means we are a part of our customers’ world. We are here for them however they want to reach us, with technology that broadens our human interactions," says Shaw. 

The minute-long ad features plenty of people DOing positive life experiences from fitness and developing new ideas to making family meals and graduating from university: it would take Ad Nut some time to count how many happy smiling faces are deployed.

At the end, Ad Nut is unsure how to feel. All that progress and “pioneering spirit” is a little exhausting. Possibly this reveals that Ad Nut is not a person that DOes. And Ad Nut is just fine with that.

Ad Nut is a surprisingly literate woodland creature that for unknown reasons has an unhealthy obsession with advertising. Ad Nut gathers ads from all over Asia and the world for your viewing pleasure, because Ad Nut loves you. You can also check out Ad Nut's Advertising Hall of Fame, or read about Ad Nut's strange obsession with 'murderous beasts'.