Entry #5: Allstate Mayhem

 The Allstate Mayhem Ad:

In this humorous ad, we see a creative presentation of a hypothetical scenario where home insurance would be required.

There is an implication that we should be thinking about the unpredictable misfortunes we encounter in our daily lives. To an extent, this ad plays on fear alongside the humor. Nowadays, influencer culture has really taken hold and has blown up exponentially on major social media platforms, thus the reason for the start of this advertisement. Within the ad, there is a reference to "likes," and a "thumbs down emoji," aligning with my interpretation of what is behind the ad. This, alongside the (very real) idea of American's tendency towards catering to one's apperance and beauty standards, is also partly where the start of this ad originates. It's somewhat relatable, in a funny way. There's something lighthearted yet serious about such a situation.

We could also see, behind the character within the ad, that this is supposed to reflect a typical room for someone who would be an influencer (or, someone who was influenced by one), adding to the atmosphere of the ad. This is of course one of the first things that can be noticed, along with the character's reference to a new hair style he saw on social media.

In this series of ads by Allstate, more generally the idea is that of covering insurance for bizarre disasters that are realistic enough that they could be serious concerns for someone watching the ad. Altogether, this is what makes such ads so effective. Not only are the ads somewhat ironic or satirical, there is always that "what-if" plausibility to them that hones in on the point that we all need protection, whether by accidentally burning our house down from a curling iron, or by some natural disaster.