NRMA Insurance launches new national brand platform via Bear Meets Eagle On Fire
NRMA Insurance has launched a new national campaign via Bear Meets Eagle On Fire (BMEOF), which includes two hero 60” films, ‘Runaway’ and ‘Duel’, running across cinema and television, and accompanied by large-format OOH and press.
Bear Meets Eagle On Fire won the assignment in June with the platform idea ‘Until then we’ll be here’, a distinctive build on NRMA Insurance’s iconic ‘Help’ positioning.
Says Micah Walker, chief creative officer and founder at BMEOF: “IAG came to us with a clear challenge to breathe fresh meaning and resonance into its positioning of ‘Help’, and to open up a more imaginative and differentiated world of storytelling for the brand.
“I think the new work answers this without it feeling like we’ve turned the brand into something totally unfamiliar. It’s undeniably NRMA Insurance – just with a shift that allows for different kinds of stories.”
Says Zara Curtis, acting chief marketing officer, NRMA Insurance: “We’re so proud of all the work we’ve created for NRMA Insurance and the business impact it has driven. We believe the new platform of ‘Until then ’ has the potential to really build on that, stretching right through the business and allowing us to showcase the many things we do as a leading insurer.
“We will use the platform to not only signal our promise to help Australians in the future, but also to share stories of how we help our customers and communities today, and how we’re ensuring they’re better prepared for tomorrow. From our partnership with Minderoo Foundation’s Australian Resilience Corp to our innovative work in enhancing the customer claims experience, we’re here to help.”
Runaway tells the story of a lone tyre, magically propelling itself through the Australian landscape until it arrives on the scene to prevent a driver having a head on collision.
Duel, a playful tussle between fire and water, imagines a world where a rural paddock extinguishes flames before they can catch hold to threaten a small, rural home.
Both films were shot by Steve Rogers at Revolver.
Client: IAG for NRMA Insurance
Chief Marketing Officer – Acting: Zara Curtis
Marketing Director Brand & Growth: Sally Kiernan
Director, Brand Strategy & Creative Execution – Acting: Anna Jackson
Specialist, Integrated Communications: Mahsa Merat
Media Lead: Tom Dodd
Head of Co-lab: Jaclyn Gordon
Creative Studio: Bear Meets Eagle On Fire
Media: Initiative
Production Company: Revolver
Director: Steve Rogers
Managing Director/Co-Owner: Michael Ritchie
Executive Producer/Partner/Producer: Pip Smart
Director of Photography: Nicolas Karakatsanis
Production Designer: Steven Jones-Evans
Costume: Joanna Mae Park
SFX Supervisor (Duel): Arlo Markantonatos
SFX Supervisor (Tyre): Taj Trengrove
Casting: Peta Einberg / Citizen Jane
Edit: ARC EDIT
Editor: Elise Butt
Editorial Producer: Michaela Fenton
Executive Producer: Daniel Fry
Post Production: Time Based Arts
Production: Sarah Polak
VFX Supervisor: Sheldon Gardner
CG: Mike Battcock, Bethan Williams, Federico Vanone, Frank Engen, Ihor Obukhovskyi, Quentin Corker-Marin, Nigel Timms
Compositing: Eleonora Laddago, Manolo Perez, Olivia O’Neil, Ralph Briscoe, Timo Huber, Viola Bascombe
Colourist: Lewis Crossfield
Colour Assist: Sharn Talbot, Max Ferguson-Hook
Sound & Music: Rumble Studios
Executive Producer: Michael Gie
Lead Sound Designer: Tone Aston
Sound Designers: Cam Milne, Liam Annert, Daniel William
Composer (Duel): Jeremy Richmond
Music Supervisor (Runaway): Anton Trailer @ Trailer Media
OOH Retouching: Electric Art
131 Comments
Just a long-winded version of this really:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_bqGPLk-ICA
very nice
but we are ROLLIN again Bear
Kooky.
…in Australian creativity and Marketing departments.
Does NRMA fight fires?
Are NRMA mechanics?
Sorry these are beautiful but feel like they’re not laddering up to the role of NRMA. NRMA can’t stop your house from burning down. But they’ll give you a pay out to rebuild.
YOu’re a dickhead
I’m jealous of this work. Props to the agency for looking at it a little differently, and to the client for letting them.
Congrats all involved
Nice work.
Sorry but they look good but are boring. Almost fell asleep
LESS DANCING ADS AND MORE OF THIS PLEASE AUSTRALIA!
This is really exceptional work. Congrats to all involved.
Very, very good.
Yet again.
Well done.
Yes, and at least the original Thai execution was entertaining and made sense. NRMA’s remake manages to be both bleak and confusing.
Nice to see the same Mad Max Road Warrior road location at the end of the spot.
Suspect you’re Victorian because this is exactly what NRMA does – they come and fix your car if you break down:
https://www.mynrma.com.au/
“The” NRMA is a totally seperate business from NRMA Insurance – they are independent companies with an agreement to use the same brand name. A policy with one does not equal a policy with another.
Way to remove all humanity out of the brand.
Brilliant.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hVKgY1ilx0Y
This is a masterclass from start to finish
A Masterclass in how to steal multiple ideas and everyone believe they are your own. I’m impressed at how the spicy bear and eagle read the room so well. They knew how stupid most of you were, and wouldn’t notice the blatant rips. Congrats.
Amazing sound craft
It’s lovely and different. Nice work Bear.
Very lovely work.
Well done to all involved. I too am very jealous.
They did make the thai insurance ads look better
Do we get a credit?
https://m.facebook.com/finchcompany/videos/sleeper-by-juan-cabral/852345568858165/
Honestly impressed with this work, though have to admit I’m becoming less and less sure of what NRMA actually do as a company the more they lean into ‘brand’… maybe that sounds worse than it actually is, academically speaking.
Good advertising is art serving consumerism.
This is it.
Beautiful.
The thing it copied is art. This isn’t art.
So Accenture Song did lose the account after all. Kept that quiet.
So turning on the gas stove sets fire to the farm? Woke BS. You’ve lost my 3 cars and house insurance NRMA..
I don’t get the fire? Do NRMA put out bushfires? Is there a part of NRMA that works with emergency services? The films are fun and quaint but my take away is that NRMA will put out the fires until fires out themselves out
…”national” brand platform? For the nation of NSW I suppose…
Until bushfires put themselves out, NRMA will be there’d to provide HELP.
This could not be more clear.
Very jealous. Beautiful work
So NRMA aren’t actually providing help by putting out bushfires?
Then the bushfires are just a scary analogy to make people feel threatened into buying insurance.
The tyre one makes sense because roadside assist do actually come and help by fixing a flat tyre.
This NRMA doesn’t come and fix your car when it breaks down.That’s a different organisation called NRMA Roadside Assistance.This work is for NRMA Insurance.
They are totally different organisations.Strange I know and understandable that you might be confused.The Roadside folk will be well pleased.This is very good work for what they offer.
This ad says that until a tyre fixes itself, NRMA Insurance will be there to help.
But you’re saying that if I get a flat tyre, it won’t be NRMA Insurance coming to help.
So what should I buy, and from who, to make sure that someone comes to help when I get a flat tyre?
This is indeed very true – what happens when a mutual demutualises.
One of the weirdest arrangements in Australian brand management is the deal between IAG (the publicly listed insurance co) and NRMA (the members services mutual) for sharing the brand that they both use…
This is great work, kudos to the team in making something boring interesting…
Facepalm
A Rogers special, and the outdoor is brilliant (do you think they argued about fullstops). Great positioning for NRMA.
When we celebrate work that’s clearly been done before and doesn’t quite land the brand truthfully.
Let’s try again…
When bushfires put themselves out, NRMA will no longer need to help you with your fire related claim.
Until then, they will be here to help you with your fire related claim.
Do you understand yet?
It’s flawed when trolls like you have an agenda. We should be celebrating clear, clever work like this. There’s not an explanatory voice over to be heard or a dancing idiot to be seen. Well done all.
But you like everyone else here is conveniently sidestepping the question raised by industry flawed and others. Is this highly copied and even ripped off from something else?
Yes it’s better than a bunch of other stuff here, but that’s not the conversation is it?
But we love a dancing or rhyming or vibe posing idiot. So many of them, we must love them. It’s the hot new thing, get with it grandpa / grandma / grandthey.
It’s been done beautifully, that’s a start. And I think you’d have to be almost autistically literal to not see ‘until fires put themselves out…’
Well done, very engaging films.
Got no idea what they’re meant to mean
Always a class act. No surprises this is great.
another agency TVC sycophant credits every person involved on the fucking campaign except the actual humans who made the photographs that underpin the entire concept. Admittedly they’re average photographs so I’m assuming they bought stock from getty and thats why its not in the credits? Either way, do your job properly. Its not all 30 second wank fests. There are humans out there making photographs that literally hold your campaign together and you cant even credit them.
A real shame for all the hard work the monkeys put in for years…
it ain’t about a flat tyre it’s about avoiding that head on collision
This is one of the most self indulgent pieces of advertising I’ve seen in a long time. The idea that people care about advertising enough to sit there and watch a tyre roll for 60 seconds shows just how stupidly out of touch with consumers this industry has become. The idea that anyone would think this is great is gob smacking.
This is confusing – it’s not obvious. I have no idea what to think when I see those long ads.
This feels like a great ad for NRMA Roadside – which is a totally different business, if BBDO hadn’t already done the exact same idea.
Super original though. Oh wait…
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hVKgY1ilx0Y
Agree, give me a 30second commercial with a straight call to action at the end and a cheery VO explaining to me exactly what I’m already seeing. This is how advertising is meant to work in Australia, not this ‘clever’ nonsense.
Beautiful work guys. So fresh – such lateral thinking. Well done.
Here’s the version some ppl on this site want to see.
A car drives along a rd.
The wheel falls off.
Cut to post-accident – there’s a big dent in the car.
VO:
Sometimes wheels fall off cars.
Yes, accidents happen.
Cut to the driver on phone to NRMA call centre. Both smiling.
VO:
When they do, NRMA insurance has you covered.
Cut to happy driver in her driveway running her hand over the car where the dent used to be.
SUPER:
NRMA. Help.
It’s only clever or @PJK ‘lateral’ if it’s actually an original idea – here it is neither.
“Here’s the version some ppl on this site want to see.
A car drives along a rd.
The wheel falls off.
Cut to post-accident – there’s a big dent in the car.
VO:
Sometimes wheels fall off cars.
Yes, accidents happen.
Cut to the driver on phone to NRMA call centre. Both smiling.
VO:
When they do, NRMA insurance has you covered.
Cut to happy driver in her driveway running her hand over the car where the dent used to be.
SUPER:
NRMA. Help.”
If you GENUINELYU believe that this is the kind of ground-breaking work that Australia desperately needs, then you’re either a client or in the completely wrong line of business. This isn’t for you kid.
This is excellent work.
Get off the comments and back to work, Monkeys. I mean Accenture Sapiens.
Oh such a clever ad construct. The award judges will love it. Everyone in the marketing team will do high fives.
And then sales will go down. No one from marketing will get fired. They’ll blame it on inflation.
But strangely AAMI and Budget’s insurance will grow (despite their old fashioned ads with people and joy).
It’s not really the marketing teams fault it’s the stupid Aussies not getting these brilliant clever ads – how dumb are the public – why don’t they sit and appreciate these 60 seconds ads, really think deeply about them. Who wants to watch youtube or tiktok anyway when you can stop and enjoy 60 seconds of brilliant craft. Stupid Aussies how could they not understand that advertising isn’t really about selling, it’s a higher art form.
The problem isn’t the ads, the people is Aussies don’t deserve these ads. They just don’t get how brilliant they are. They should be forced to put down their phones, stop streaming youtube and watch these brilliant clever ads. Afterall Netflix and Amazon are rubbish compared to this. Brilliant.
Didn’t read the blurb and flat out didn’t get the tyre one. It’s just confusing.
The problem with ‘clever’ ads like this is that they insult the intelligence of the viewer by asking them to spend too long trying to work something out that they have very little interest in. Even if the tyre intrigues you enough to stay with it, it’s still a WTF
It’s also why doing really good ads that are clear and engaging is so fcking hard
👌👌👌😂😂😂
So refreshing to see a 30second commercial that isn’t just another cheery VO explaining exactly what i’m seeing. Great spot and I wish the tyre rolled for longer than 60 seconds.
You’re in luck, there’s a whole feature film of it made back in 2010. If you like this, you should check it out.
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1612774/
Outdoor and print is really good!
TV is confusing. I thought it was an NRMA Roadside Service ad.
You people:
“I wish the Cadbury gorilla didn’t play drums for so long and a VO just explained that chocolate brings joy.”
“I wish the Bravia balls didn’t bounce down the hill for so long and a VO just told me the TV has great colour.”
“I wish the Cops Vs Clowns Frozen Heist spot wasn’t so cinematically innovative and a VO just told me Phillips TVs have great picture.”
Everyone who awarded these films must’ve been wrong.
Should’ve been 15s with a retail VO, according to all the award winners here
The films are trying too hard; like most of their work.
They don’t feel on brand.
And no one will read your long copy print ad.
Here’s the thing.
I like this. Creatively the TV is good. But unfortunately, it will go way over the publics head. It’s the type of ad tortured creative minds applaud.
Now, what the Monkeys do well is effective populalist ads. Easy to understand without the decoding. The Koala ad was well known amd loved.
So, what do you prefer creative people? An ad that is creatively made for creative minds? or, an ad made to be popular amongst your non-ad friends and the general public?
There is nothing complicated about these spots. Compare them to the ideas in any popular Netflix show, if people can understand film and streaming show storylines they can understand a world where tyres roll to blow outs and magic water spouts put out fires, it’s just not that hard to get. But don’t worry the ad will be on again so you can maybe get it soon?
PS ‘tortured creative minds’ bring you those pesky complicated things called film and TV, people watch them also.
Interesting that you compare them to film and series because that’s where you stole these ideas from?
But guess what, you don’t make film and streaming series, you copy them into your 60 sec ad.
Now I understand why this agency only makes a couple of ads a year.
Absolutely no one will be missing those depressing koala ads we were made to endure
Truth is I, and most people I know in this industry, would love to be making work like this.
Wholeheartedly agree. Since the f*cking planners started running the creative department, we’ve all been brainwashed into formulaic sh*te.
So understated and smart, damn. Best Aussie work I’ve seen this year.
These people are making ads that they want to make. They are being paid for their expertise. They might be making the most interesting work seen in Australia/APAC for the last few years. I totally applaud that. When you’re sitting there on the umpteenth compromise on that script you’re writing. And want to go home, just think about that. Credit to them.
This is why we can’t have nice things, people.
The people who bag this work, it is almost certain, have never and will never, do or experience the feeling of doing great work. This is just beautiful craft, a gorgeously fresh take on a predictable category and a pleasure to watch. So sad when you read the anger of the stupid.
Someone really likes the work of Quentin Dupieux. This heavily references the film ‘Rubber’ and the Rollin’ insurance puppets in car thing is very similar to Dupieux’s ‘Mr Oizo’ work. If you don’t know who that is or what they are, i suggest you look them up, especially everyone on here applauding this work as fresh and creative. These things were fresh 10 years or so ago when Quentin actually created them. They’re not fresh now, maybe they’re fresh if you’re all the way in Australia and are not up to date with culture.
Very easy to understand. Well crafted. There’s not a single insurance commercial in Australia even close to this. Well done.
Please credit me:
https://youtu.be/X2WH8mHJnhM?t=163
It seems very generous for NRMA Insurance/IAG to make an ad for NRMA Roadside assist, when they are completely separate companies.
No it’s not. They just don’t want to see a depressing, disaster focused ad that’s in a long winded format that requires people to care about advertising. It seems you’re stuck in the mentality that if people don’t agree with the construct they must want an even worse crappy 30″ commercial. Maybe that’s the problem – you’re stuck in TV land wishing we only had 3 free to air channels and the internet didn’t exist.
Tropfest called. They want their entries back.
It’s been done, at least the tyre one that we know of – rendering any praises for ground breaking work redundant – no I don’t work at the Monkeys
They had a decent campaign already. If they wanted to refresh the idea they need to keep the style they’ve built. Instead they’ve completely thrown the baby out with the bathwater to start completely from scratch.
Until I can unsee that flute player, I’ll keep adding to the curse I just put on you.
It’s obvious there are about three trolls on here repeating the same criticism hoping something will stick: ‘I don’t get it’ ‘It’s been done before’ ‘The old work was better’.
“They had a decent campaign already.”
They obviously didn’t think so or they wouldn’t have looked elsewhere
The freshest, simplest thing that’s been on here for a long time. The Thai ad (campaign) is great, but it’s a different idea done 20 years ago. DNA shared = 15 % (mainly in execution). Well done agency and most importantly client for being brave enough to buy an idea with some intelligence, subtlety and uniqueness to it, in an Aussie ad landscape that is 98% blah.
For those bemoaning that it’ll go over the public’s head, I hardly need to state that it was Ogilvy who said 50+ years ago, “The customer is not a moron, she is your wife.” It’s also your job as a creative to advocate for interesting and different work, even if it misses the mark a little or falls short of genius. At least they’re having a crack.
Most of us got into this business to create work that goes beyond pure selling and helps add to culture in some way. This work is one teensy, tiny step in the right direction. Aussie advertising is currently light years short of its potential. The more interesting work that gets into market, the harder marketers will need to compete and be less afraid to take a leap. Get busy building, or get busy dying.
the comments above prove it.
@All the neg comments – When did this industry become so conservative?
We should celebrate an Aussie indie creating proper work like this.
The fact that they won it from an incumbent, even more so.
Congrats Bears and Eagles. Credit where it’s due.
Absolutely love the OOH & Print, great headlines and imagery. Particularly love the inevitability of misfortune shown in honest, real world moments that affect all Australians. Well done all involved.
Perfect
….better than that Budget Direct shite.
Really like this. Strategically it goes directly against its competition – Suncorp – for trying to build houses that are resistant to fires etc. That work was beautifully well-meant, but the ‘innovations’ were hardly ground-breaking. Until houses / cars can protect themselves, NRMA are here to help – great play and job well done.
Love how any comment with even mild criticism gets removed here….
Tyre spot is a blatant rip-off
Water one is confusing unless nrma are now firefighters
2nd high profile drop here in as many weeks taking their post overseas. Why Time Based Arts and not a local shop? Asking for a friend…
Tyre one is beautifully directed. Nice one SR.
Advertising is mostly pollution, this is not. Most of you naysayers sound like you have very little care for what you do.
Can I be comment #100. This ad is a rip off both in idea and execution. The images look great so good work Nicolas Karakatsanis and the music is good but other than that it is unoriginal.
But sadly it’s copied.
Everyone who has criticized this work is attacked LOL. What’s that about?
FWIW I think the craft is fantastic.
Does it do a good job for the brand? Not in my opinion.
I am on fire with how quickly I am responding to the negative comments.
I’d love to go back and read the comments section on ‘The Big Ad’ when it was released.
99.9% of the comments about The Big Ad were positive – somewhere between ‘great’ to the ‘greatest ever’.
But that has nothing to do with the comments about NRMAs ‘Until’ campaign.
has obviously ruffled quite a few feathers in this industry to attract so many comments.
Just ruffled Quentin Dupieux’s feathers. Actually probably not. What does he care. But that eagle probably owes him some money or a beer or two?
Send him a little thankyou email you cuddly little bear you.
most people on the street couldn’t care less about ads.
NRMA lacks proper branding, especially in comparison to the two brands that are eating its lunch.
This is not BMEOF’s fault.
This new campaign is another ‘zag’ — new music, new fonts, etc. — that fails to build on memory structures.
You have no idea what or who it is for until the very end.
And even then, it feels more like Roadside than Insurance.
It’s beautiful. Yes.
And all of us in agencies will love it.
But NRMA Insurance (despite Effies) continues to lose share, and I doubt this new work will rattle its key competitors.
This is ace.
@Miserable haters.
Post your better work….
You’re fortunate enough to reference this in the next pitch you don’t get.
I can’t wait to reference (blatantly rip off) this ad and 2 other ads and a feature film all with the same concept, when i write my next ad that’s a copy of this Ad. Thanks people for making my life way easier, i hated coming up with my own ideas, way too hard and even harder selling them to clients.
This is world’s better than that sentimental Koala nonsense we were subjected to for years. I can still hear that sting. Gross.
Bravo Bear.
Thank you Bears. This is brilliant.
People must be really bloody bored writing their retail spots to spend this much time hating on good work.
What a monumentally stupid ad.
All abstract, all designed to impress , but actually puts viewers to sleep.
You fools just don’t get it !
Cater to the great unwashed, who are the bulk of your target audience.
Have another Latte with your ponytail mates and keep giving your clients stupid ads like the “retread in the Desert”
Cheers,
Trevor
From Ballina
Wait, so most of you spend your days bemoaning that no client in Australia will buy anything other than the obvious and they’re too conservative/not brave enough/want all the RTBs, and then in the same breath bag this out because it’s not repetitive Budget Direct/AAMI-esque retail spots that none of you want to actually make and also complain about endlessly? This may not be perfect, but at least it represents something different in the market, in the category and vs what every other agency is churning out. We should all embrace that wherever it comes from, especially from an indie agency working with one of the most recognised brands in the country. It’s not easy to get anything through, so I say respect.
Respect for trying and hopefully treading a new path. Still copied though. If only we could come up with our own ideas and then have client trust us without us having to show that it’s already been done before.
Well said Louise.
Let’s at least laud those who are trying,rather than putting them down.If you truly love this industry and want it to remain a creatives industry,let alone just surviving-be a little more generous in your reviews and a bit more positive about our combined futures.
I have worked with a lot of insurance category clients so I know just how hard it would have been to get support and approval from the client.
Well done to both agency and NRMA.
Not a single negative comment without a pseudonym? That says it all really doesn’t it.
Whenever this ad comes on I stop what I’m doing to watch it, because I love the cinematography, the quirky details and the music. Even though I find the message confusing…still love the ad though.
I hate this ad. The fires are still very much in my mind. This burning of country followed by flood horrifies me. Even including wildlife running from water. I wonder what wildlife rescuers are thinking.
got my attention for the wrong reasons. shame the craft is lost to being completely tone deaf. the impact that fires have on people, flora and fauna is deeply traumatising. It would be haunting to people who have lost everything.
Had a tough time trying to figure out what the point of the ad was…which isn’t good for any ad. IMO kinda stupid.
Until the climate stops changing
Nice propaganda campaign guys
Geo-engineering and build back better 2030 in Green sight
Just need to watch the endless cloud seeding and the build back buddies at WEF rubbing their greedy hands together
Their sheeple will eat grubs and own nothing and be happy
How lame.
NRMA have Mr Plow-ed it. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gArU-BAO7Kw