It's been three years since actor J.K. Simmons (you know, the guy from Law & Order, Spider-Man, Juno, The Closer, I Love You, Man…) first appeared in the role of Professor Nathanial Burke, the advice-doling academic in RPA's "University of Farmers" campaign for Farmers Insurance. The spots are pretty formulaic, but often have nice flourishes, as Burke teaches prospective Farmers agents about the dangers lurking just around the corner—laundry fires, hailstones, flying farm animals—which are played out in rather over-the-top fashion for our viewing amusement.
"Suds," a new spot from the latest Farmers campaign, "It's Smarter to Have a Plan," follows that template to a T. Burke meets up with yet another student at the University of Farmers (which, by the way, actually exists—the company has training campuses in California and Michigan) to show him that what he doesn't know, like the fact that you should replace your washing-machine hose every five years, can hurt him. (Or at least, your kitchen will fill up with detergent bubbles.)
The ad allows Simmons to get a bit more animated than usual, but otherwise fits in with the seemingly agreed-upon strategy by U.S. insurance companies to deluge viewers with variations on the same ad. Lucky for Farmers, its campaign has a star who won't make you want to bash your head against a wall after seeing him eight times in a single evening.
Simmons is one of the more likable character actors in existence—even if you can never remember his name.
CREDITS
Client: Farmers Insurance
Agency: RPA
EVP, Chief Creative Officer: Joe Baratelli
SVP, Group Creative Director: Pat Mendelson
Creative Directors: Tom Hamling, Pete Figel
Senior Art Director: Katie Carlile
Senior Copywriter: Seth Prandini
Copywriters: Chris Juhas & Josh Hill
Art Directors: Ben Tolbert & Cheston Kwan
SVP, Executive Producer, Content: Gary Paticoff
Senior Producer: Selena Pizarro
Assistant Producer: Ryan Radley
Production Company: Smuggler
Director: Guy Shelmerdine
Director of Photography: Joost Van Gelder
Executive Producer: Laura Thoel
Producer: Lisa Tauscher
Production Designer: Tom Hartman
Editorial Company: Spot Welders
Editor: Haines Hall
Editor: Paul Sabater
Executive Producer: David Glean
Senior Producer: Carolina Wallace
Post Production Company: The Mill
VFX Shoot Supervisor: James Allen
Executive Producer: Sue Troyan
VFX Producer: Gabriel Libitsky
Executive Producer Telecine: LaRue Anderson
Telecine Artist: Shane Reed
Audio Post Company: Lime Studios
Audio Post Mixer: Rohan Young
Executive Producer: Jessica Locke
Title Design: Laundry! TV
Executive Producer: Michael Bennett
Head of Production: Eric Badros
Producer: Kirsten Collabolletta
Title Design: Tony Liu
Title Animation: Tony Liu, Yongmin Park, Julie Lenoble
Music Company: Elias Arts, LA
Composer/Arranger: Jonathan Elias
Executive Producer: Ann Haugen
Creative Director: Dave Gold