Un - der done!

How many have seen the "Un" campaign? Unfortunately that is exactly what it is - a campaign. I was expecting more and it could have been great.


It started last weekend with teaser ads in both leading Sunday papers. I was hooked enough to start hunting for "Un" references on the web. Largely what I got was the United Nations.


This made me realise that someone had created a (brand or advertising) proposition which they couldn't 'own'.


The tease continued during the week as the massive billboard sitting atop the grain silos west of the Anzac Bridge (Sydney) was filled with 'un' words.



Finally today the big reveal - Un is "unworry" and is an NRMA (IAG) insurance campaign. For those who haven't yet seen "The Power of Un." ads here is a snippet to get you in the frame:



"'But what is Un?' Un is amazing. It's all around us. Without Un you can't undress and where does that leave you? In te same clothes forever. But with Un you can unstress. And uncomplicate. And unbother about it. Most of all, you can undo what you did. Like UN-SEND that all-staff email that was meant for your boyfriend. Or UNCRASH Uncle Percy's car. And unsmash the pergola that Uncle Percy's car drove into. Now, thanks to Un, Uncle Percy isn't cranky, he's uncranky. So you can both relax and be friends again. 'And that is the power of Un," I say."




Well its creative and different, its got attitude, they are developing a tone-of-voice which could work, and it has amazing potential.



But I think they have blown it.



If you go to unworry.com.au you get a website which gives you a bit more info on 'Un" and has a cute blue plasticine character not dissimilar to one I had developed for my (yet-to-be-released) 'wink' brand a couple of years ago.

The website even has some games. But when you get down to the pointy business of buying (or getting a quote for) car insurance all it does is pass you straight to the bog standard NRMA online quote engine.


In other words it is a pretty unusual and interesting front end to the existing business engine.



It could have been so much more.



I happen to know that IAG is (or at least was) developing a new online insurance start-up to tackle 'Bingle'. I sort of had a hunch when I first saw it last weekend that "Un" might be IAG's launch of his new initiative. So I was expecting lots and got a little.



Imagine an entirely new insurance brand, delivered online, around an "Un" proposition. The first incarnation of this is what they hint at in a tongue-in-cheek way - undoing what had been done by accident or act-of-God. But it could go much further - how about being unlike any other insurance company; being unwavering in their commitment to pay (quickly) legitimate claims; being unafraid to be different - well, you get the picture.



A brand is created around a promise, a personality and a proposition. I know a lot of people think of brands as being the brand identity - logo and name - but powerful brands are far more. NRMA had a chance to create a whole new proposition and a powerful new brand. Clearly there are some smart minds at work there. Instead they came up with a clever advertising campaign which is not even executed as effectively as it could be.



So what are some of the things wrong with it?

• It is just a new wrap to an old product and service offering


• They don't do enough to develop the character - the blue plasticine character could be "Un" and they could build him into something substantial; instead he is an incidental traffic light.


• They promise things they can never deliver - can they really help 'un-send' the all-staff email? Of course they can't. They would have been better off being upfront and saying unfortunately there are some things we want to "Un" but can't yet


• They could have created a brave new virtual un-world.


• Most importantly they could have uninvented all the conventional wisdom rules of the existing general insurance business and given us something refreshingly new and different.

Instead we have mutton dressed up as lamb.


Powerful brands are not created by clever copywriters. They are delivered through the actions of the business - consistently and with integrity. If you are going to tout "Un" the business has to be "Un". Not just a creative front end to the same old stuff.