Autumn 21

The ‘Get Life Right’ advertisements we at Partners Life ran last year were quite a departure for a life insurance company.

They could be seen as macabre, featuring the waiting room for heaven as the dearly departed (and a dog) lined up, woefully unprepared for death.

When we launched that ad campaign in March, we used cheeky Kiwi humour to challenge cultural stigmas towards life insurance among Kiwis.

We wanted to increase awareness of the need for financial advice and let people know who Partners Life is and what we stand for.

It seemed it worked. Most people saw it and we even got a couple of complaints from people offended by the reality of sudden death. Really, that was the point.

New campaign

Now we’ve done it again. Our latest campaign ‘Unhappily Ever After’ continues with the Kiwi humour and dark undertones in a way that we think should really hit the mark with new parents and non-parents alike.

We believe that having kids and starting a family is a major turning point in people’s lives.

For many of us, it’s the first time that the concept of risk becomes ‘real’ as we’re thinking about the long-term impacts of an interruption to a child’s future.

So, we wondered how to reach new parents to get them thinking about risks.

What better way than by using something they will be all-too-familiar with, classic children’s nursery rhymes – and giving them a ‘Get Life Right’ facelift.

Nursery rhymes

Nursery rhymes, at their core, are a way to teach young children of risks and danger in a fun and imaginative way – whether that’s having a great fall, bumping a head, or losing a tail.

Nursery rhymes allow Kiwi parents to talk to their children about risks, but we all know that it’s Kiwi parents and adults who need to be thinking and talking more frankly and openly about the risks to their own lives.

Unhappily Ever After

That’s where Unhappily Ever After comes in. We’ve taken a number of classic nursery rhymes and turned them into irreverent, cheeky tales about why Kiwis should be thinking more regularly about their financial risks.

They’ve been beautifully animated. They’re narrated in a cosy way by Kiwi actor Dave Fane, a veteran of Sione’s Wedding, Eagle vs Shark, Bro’Town and Outrageous Fortune.

Not only do nursery rhymes take people back to their childhood, but they often have a dark origin which lends nicely to conveying our message that unexpected things do indeed happen.

Watch Unhappily Ever After’s Humpty Dumpty remake on YouTube.

And if you’d like to get life right with Partners Life, see www.partnerslife.co.nz or contact an insurance broker.