Ad Review: Liberty Mutual’s LiMu Emu is Lame-O - The Cranky Creative Blog (2024)

1. Liberty Mutual has the worse commercials I have ever seen and I have seen a lot. They aren’t funny, amusing or catchy. They are aggravating, annoying and irritating. They are disgusting. Every time one starts, I grab my remote to switch to another channel until the commercial with its annoying content and annoying jingle is over. Because of these commercials I would never buy their product to start with but, If I had I would cancel their insurance in a heartbeat.

   1. Al, I think we should carve your comment in stone and hang it somewhere prominent, such as the entryway to Cranky Creative headquarters, or perhaps in the lobby at Liberty Mutual. As one of millions of unwilling victims of the company’s antagonistic advertising over the years, I can only say that I think Liberty’s marketing team and advertising agency should both throw themselves over the railing of their fake “Statue of Liberty” setting and hold each other’s heads under the water until we don’t need to worry about them anymore.

      They suck, their work sucks, and worst of all — I think they know it. Their latest ads that repeat the company’s brain-damaging jingle are absolutely a response to negative consumer feedback — they’re just trolling us now.

      Thanks for writing.

      1. I am a bit of an older gentleman, and can remember back to the older days of TV advertising. One minute spots were the norm and a lot of information was given in a commercial. “Buy our brand/product because it will improve your life in this way….” As spots got more expensive, commercials changed a bit. As a Communications major at one of the big Communications colleges in the country, I took various Communications, Public Relations, and Advertising courses when “product positioning” and “product imaging” were the buzz words. There were a number of successful campaigns that employed these techniques. Miller Lite’s turnaround comes to mind when they employed ex-athletes debating great taste vs less filling after unsuccessfully positioning themselves as a “ladies beer”. However, these days advertising is puzzling. With 15 second spots being the norm, some advertisers choose annoying techniques so as to make you remember the brand. In Lib Mu’s case, they employ totally annoying, totally insulting, totally stupid, storm trooper techniques for brand recognition without realizing the damage they are doing to themselves (honest admission – no love lost here for Lib Mu due to personal experience). I know there’s a lot of Lib Mu bashing here but Lib Mu is certainly not alone here. Advertising totally sucks these days and I’m sure our host will 100% agree. I applaud his dedication to the proper professionalism in this art

         1. Thanks, Robert. You’re right — the ads of yesteryear were often longer and full of information that provided reasons to buy.

            Nowadays, most advertising is dumbed down, like everything else, to a sound bite (or screech, or rap beat, or other caustic noise).

            It would be enough to make this cranky ad man drink if drinking were not already a prerequisite for ad men, much less cranky ones.

            Good to hear from you, Robert!

      2. Liberty Mutual figured their annoying jingle was NOT QUITE ANNOYING ENOUGH by saying “Liberty” only THREE times in their godawful jingle, so Liberty Mutual decided on saying a FORTH “Liberty” just to make their stupid-ass jingle even more fucking annoying!

2. Don’t you think it’s such an obvious ripoff of Geico’s ad strategy? Weird animal mascot, check. Hammer the same brainless motto every time, check. Completely ridiculous situations, check. Not a single actual fact related to insurance ever presented, check.

   You ask what’s the attraction of an emu? Well, what’s the attraction of a lizard?

   At least the Farmers ads are about “here’s an example of an actual claim we covered.” Head and shoulders above.

   The animal ads don’t inform my selection habits one way or the other, anyway. What keeps me away from Liberty Mutual is a long acquaintanceship with a clubmate who worked there, and invariably referred to his employer as “Slippery Mutual.”

   1. Great points all around, Henry! And thank you — I had a jolly good chuckle at “Slippery Mutual.” 😛

   2. Ads go from bad to worse. For the weekend BBQ spot, does anyone else get creepy wife-beater vibes from Doug when he says “yeah” and puts the toothpick back in his mouth? Is that what LM is going for here? And the poor wife also seems victim-like, very common among DV victims – “tries to be cheerful, but always fearful”. So for the next spot, will we see the couple inside the house, after the Emus have left, while Doug, beating her with the tongs, yells “I’ll talk about work whenever I want, bitch!”

3. limu emu and doug are the reason i dropped liberty mutual. i will not use this insurance company again due to these commercials

4. These commercials make me so ill that I had to google “Limu Emu is the worst,” so I could troll vent. I recently had to pick a new car insurance company, and I went with Progressive… just because I can stand Flo more than most. When a Liberty commercial comes on, I have to abruptly change the channel/program or mute it and look away. Limu and Doug make me long for the days of those terrible Geico caveman adds. The Liberty jingle is also the absolute worst. Once again, I can not fathom how these commercials passed though so many ad execs and higher ups, and were allowed on any media market period. I just friggin cant. 🤮

   1. So glad you found us, Sarah! You’re absolutely right — it’s amazing that so many dumb ads get approved.

      Stop back anytime!

   2. I would never buy liberty insurance because of there stupid annoying commercials!!!

      1. I bought Liberty becuz of the commercials!

   3. I love Emu and Doug commercials! Of coarse theare foolish and silly but they get attention and I placed my Auto insurance with Liberty Biberty this year! Oh, and they saved me hundreds too !

      1. I agree

      2. You’re receiving new customer pricing. But next year you won’t be a new customer and you’ll be shocked. Liberty Mutual did it to me and then continued to stick it to me every renewal. 15-20% EACH YEAR until I switched. Enjoy.

   4. Ok first you buy your insurance off of comericals? Also who ever made this website just to shit on ads they don’t like must literally have no life. Like the amount of detail you use to explain how much u dislike an ads shows how you have much too much time on ur hands. Also these commercials are funny. This “blog” is the fuxking joke.

      1. If this blog is such a waste of time, then why are you here posting on it, Zane?

         By the way, I think you should sue whatever failing public education system let you graduate and burped you into the world like one of Homer Simpson’s lip-rattling belches. Any decent lawyer could make a great case against them for gross negligence.

      2. I agree. The ads are funny. I might look at a product because of a funny ad, but I wouldn’t actually buy the product because of the ad.

   5. FLO and JAMIE are two of the best insurance assholes TV has to offer!

5. Every time one of these ads comes on my TV, I tell my wife “LOOK! There’s a pecker head, and a big bird!”

   1. heh heh…pecker head…it’s funny cuz that’s what it does in the latest commercial, right at the computer screen!! No No Emu It’s Just A Filter, as Doug tries to de-escalate the situation….

   2. I like yer style, dude.

6. I’m baaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaacccccccccccccccckkkkkkkk! Har har! I came by to see if there were any new comments on this post. Just one fact: Aflac and Geico are under the same parent company. Perhaps this will give other readers ideas when it comes to choosing their insurance company. And years ago, Allstate Insurance was part of the Sears financial network. Dean Winters is the character “Mayhem” in the Allstate Ads. Dean Winters had a recurring role in the TV series Law And Order SVU. Dennis Hasbert is the “safe drivers save 40 percent” character in the Allstate Ads.

   Now, about the LIMU EMU & DOUG spots: I’ve used them to torment my blog enemies, and it triggers them to my delight and amusement. The troll who looks like Doogie just started a Cannabis blog site, yes I kid you not! I will say this about the goons writing the LIMU EMU ads: they must be high on Choom And $hrooms.

7. Have seen that commercial so many times I had to get a prescription for Meclizine to stop losing weight from vomiting! Never caught on to the 1970s-style buddy cops metaphor. Always thought the ad was about the consequences of sleeping with animals!

   1. The “mute” button is your friend, Alex. Use it and be well!

8. Author needs to get a life.

   1. Says the Anonymous Coward who didn’t leave his name or email.

   2. Author is a funny son of a bitch!! =D

      1. Thank you, Michele. That’s the nicest thing anyone’s said to me all day!

         1. Author is also a serious ad man who takes his craft seriously. This is coming from someone who studied a bit of advertising, PR, and communications way back when in college

            1. Thank you, kind sir!

9. If Liberty Mutual is anything like their commercials, they should be out of business. I have never seen such bad commercials in my life. I would not want anything to do with that company even if they gave me free insurance. Bad decision making skills at the top.

   1. Right, Siti? A company’s advertising communicates its brand, its personality. Prospects see it as an indication of the company’s commitment to quality and professionalism. Can I trust this company? Do I have confidence that they know what they’re doing?

      Liberty Mutual’s continual clown show of ads undermines its brand completely.

      Thanks for writing!

10. Oh my word, Millennial bashing is soooo played out. I’m not sure how many *30 and 40 year-olds* are amused by a moronic emu, let alone watching TV. Probably written by a tired, out-of-work Boomer?

    I don’t know. Other than that, I agree: the commercials are trash.

    1. Thanks, Give It A Rest, but I’ll stop goofing on Millennials when they stop twerking on Facebook and falling over cliffs trying to take selfies. Hey, at least they don’t eat Tide Pods.

       All I’m saying is give it a few years. It’s a lot easier to admit how silly we all were when we get older. 😉

       Stop back anytime!

11. I had LM insurance several years ago because State Farm raised their rates significantly for three straight years even after being with them for 30+ years. LM offered a significant new customer discount. The next year was a moderate increase which I expected but then the following year they posted a significant increase again without a legitimate reason. They also misled me on when my premium was supposed to be reduced when my only ticket expired its three-year term. They said they would remove it AFTER the next renewal period, a year AFTER they said it was to be removed. My response was, “I am going to find a better insurance company” and I did. Saved over $2k per year. I voted with my wallet. A few years later they called me to try to get me back as a customer. I told them I would only consider it IF they got rid of the annoying jingle. It is bad enough hearing “Liberty” sung but THREE TIMES??? It is so bad that USAA picked up the same idea although not as annoying plus they are serving our military heroes so that makes their chant tolerable.

    Then, they added LiMu Emu and Doug. And I thought Flo and the total wuss Jamie, an embarrassment to humanity, were bad enough but the LM came up with the Wet Teddy Bear commercials. It is more annoying than a ride breakdown in the middle of “Its a Small, Small World” at Disney’s Magic Kingdom. A new low mark for LM. How LOW can they GO?

    At least Progressive has had a few bright spots recently, but overall they are few and far between. LM has none. The worst was when Jamie’s mom popped out of the ceiling at a warehouse game show. That one makes me want to hurl.

    I loved Geico’s parody “Twilight Zone” commercials especially with Lee Ermey as the former drill instructor as a psychologist and the woodchucks. Their raccoon commercials were very funny.

    Farmer’s commercials are actually OK. Not annoying with some moderate humor. They are my insurance company now and they have been pretty good.

    State Farm is OK, too, with their old and new Jake from State Farm ads.

    Despite what one writer in this thread mentioned about his dislike of “Mayhem”, I thought that most of those commercials were pretty funny especially during football season. The other Allstate commercials are OK and show positives of what they do as an insurance company. Plus their spokesman has a great voice.

    Feels good to rant. Fire the LM ad company NOW! Please, for the sake of the viewers.

    1. I thought Doug and Emu were absolutely stupid, BUT, then comes the “wet teddy bear “ commercial – now that is the stupidest commercial yet! PLEASE remove this!!!!! I’m sure you will lose customers! We have switched to another company!

       1. Agreed 100%. Even judged by the rock-bottom stupidity standards established by the lame LM Doug & Emu (and other) routine- the “wet teddy bear” definitely takes it to a much lower level. These actually make me pine for the by far funnier and even cerebral Geico series like the Rhetorical Questions and the Caveman. Those I would actually look forward to seeing. The LM stupidity parade is an unfolding horror show.

          1. The real question should be who actually approve the wet teddy bear commercial they need to be looking for another job

       2. I agree….the Emu and the wet teddy bears have to go. I am tired of changing channels so I don’t have to be subjected to these stupid ads.

    2. Amen, why do insurance companies feel they have to be amusing? Especially when all they do is make themselves look stupid most of the time. Before the ad blitzes a few years ago I had never even HEARD of Liberty mutual & after I’ve seen their ads I’m damn sure I’ll never buy any either. I’ve been waiting for them to drop the totally lame emu & Doug shtick but day after day every 5 minutes they continue to embarrass themselves. Maybe they really ARE that stupid?

    3. It’s not so much the horribly bad content of these annoying, obnoxious, godawful and dumb as a Fu*king rock insurance TV commercials but the excessive amount of times that they keep showing up on TV.;;; We have watched the EXACT SAME insurance commercial air four times within a one hour TV program!!! If the FCC can totally ban cigarette commercials from showing on TV they should be able to put a limit on the number of times the SAME commercial may air during a hour long TV show! Viewers are just fed-up and SICK of seeing the SAME annoying and overplayed TV insurance commercial every five minutes hundreds of times day and night!

12. I think these Doug and Emu skits are great. Better than half what’s on TV. As far as insurance message who cares.

    1. I wonder, is it possible for an opinion to be objectively wrong? Because I think you may have hit a two-fer, Anonymous!

13. Love the commercials, they are funny! The music is great too. It is okay to be corny. It takes all types.

    1. I won’t knock anyone for liking these ads, Lena. But as sales messages, they are pretty bad. What compelling reason do viewers have to choose Liberty Mutual over any other insurance company?

       1. I have a good compelling reason not to buy LM products. The purchasers of the LM support such bad behavior with their premiums. LM must have some pretty whacked out PR executives if they think the ads are effective. Maybe 80 million people like them though.

          1. Bad behavior, Max? Do you mean the speeding cars? Or are you referring to something else?

    2. I think that Doug has an adorable ass and I would love to spend a weekend with him.

       1. All right, this made me laugh more than it should have.

14. I never liked the Liberty Mutual commercials but when they added that jingle at the end they totally lost me on that one. I believe my blood pressure goes up when I hear that jingle so I always try to have my remote handy.

    1. Couldn’t agree more, laj. Mute button for the win. That jingle scrapes on my ears like a Q-Tip from Hell!

15. Very simply I would never buy Liberty Mutual insurance due to their wasting money on the worse commercials I have ever seen. I cannot tolerate EMU and flip off everytime, not to mention their irritating other commercials. Awful.

    1. Ok, we’ve all had our time dissing Liberty Mutual on the stupid LiMu campaign.

       But a much more dangerous, insidious ad campaign is being waged by Match.com involving Satan. Yes, Satan. Wake up, people!!

    2. Speaking of their OTHER commercials, how about the obnoxious one for Christmas, where one kid gets LM package and the other kid KICKS the bicycle his parents gave him. LM is encouraging BRATTY behavior… and what about the insult to the parents who bought the second kid the bicycle.

       If LM thinks that’s funny… they need a new ad creator!

       Let’s stop encouraging bad behavior to try to sell a product!

       1. Thanks for the heads-up, Alice. I saw this Liberty Mutual ad after you mentioned it. No surprise, it is yet more evidence that the people behind LM advertising are completely creatively bankrupt.

          Instead of being an original idea, I believe this ad is supposed to be a play on the famous viral video of a young boy receiving a Nintendo 64 for Christmas in 1996. Unfortunately, the ad captures none of the humor, joy, or charm of the original source material. It’s just a pale shadow limping around on the broken crutches of nostalgia.

          Here’s that viral video, by the way. Enjoy. 😛

       2. The epitome of ads with bratty bad behavior has to be the early Twix commercials: “Two for me, none for you!” Turned me off on them forever.

16. Uncommon Journalism posted an article about my battle with Liberty Mutual over their Limu Emu and Doug vs my O’Ryan and his Ostrich. Read it here.

    1. Liberty Mutual needs a new marketing firm. The only thing dumber than the idea of an Emu selling insurance is the commercial they did for Christmas. Zoltar was not as annoying, but the only one who really made me laugh is the guy dressed up like a cell phone. I suppose there’s only so many cell phone jokes to be done, but at least they’re more on topic.

       1. I agree, when he gets drenched and jumped into the rice, THAT WAS FUNNY!

    2. Beyond the sheer idiocy of their commercials, their (and the other related minions) not even responding to your most reasonable inquiries is discourteous and arrogant to the utmost. The annual revenues of these Goliaths and behemoths are simply staggering (I did not have any idea about the actual numbers, until I read the article whose URL you have posted). Given how they jack up insurance rates at any and every opportunity- it is clear where the massive profits end up. As is often said, the only way to elicit a response is to hit them where it matters- in the pocket book. Hope vast numbers will boycott LiMu and several of the other moronic insurance peddlers (Progressive immediately comes to mind), until (is it too much to dream?) they file for Chapter 11.

    3. Thanks for the update, James. That article is a good read. I’m sorry but not surprised that your plight has fallen on deaf ears. In the real world, David rarely stands a chance against Goliath.

17. Seems like everything these days is either redundant, or very stupid. Radio stations that play the same music over and over again until your ears bleed. Then we have these insurance companies that give us these really stupid commercials. Progressive has Flo and that moron Jamie. Geico has a talking gecko, who at 1 point never spoke, Liberty Mutual (rolls eyes). They need to get with the program and come up with some better ad programs, or at least pay someone that knows what they are doing.

    1. That’s exactly the problem, Omar. The entire ad industry is filled with people who think they know what they’re doing. These egomaniacs are not just sure of themselves, they are supremely confident that they are the smartest and most creative people in the room.

       The industry is sick, its priorities are whack, and all of us, from ad-agency clients to TV-watching consumers, are the ones who suffer.

    2. Limu Emu I change the channel. PROGRESSIVE I told them to get rid of FLO and I’ll buy the Insurance. They didn’t listen so this a.m. I unsubscribed their asses. I am changing my insurance from the lizard soon. Flo turns my stomach.

       1. I wrote this in my email response just now:

          The worst part is, the superlatively stupid LimuEmu idiocy parade continues. The clueless bunch continues with the two in an elevator, and an equally revolting beach volleyball nonsense. All your efforts thus far for nothing. They will not learn.

          The Flo stuff has for the longest time been unbelievably painful- the closest competitor for the LimuEmu pain inflictor. The Gecko is at least marginally tolerable. At times, it even makes sense. They had some pretty good ones for a while (the Cave Man sequence; the rhetorical Q&A and others).

          Keep hammering away.

          1. cannot stand this EMU crap anymore every time this commercial comes on I turn the volume off only thing that”s just as bad is the IDIOT who is his side kick, Do you not have any morals or will you do anything for a buck!!! And as far as LIBERTY Mutual why can you not talk to us like a human being with some we have some brains! If you think that this gets our attention guess what it does not !! Get some better writers who have a few brain cells left! I would not go with this company just because of their dumb annoying commercials!

          2. Even worse, which should be impossible, is the ‘wet Teddy Bear’ campaign.

             1. So right, John. It should be impossible. And yet, here we are. I shudder to think what galactic stupidity comes after the wet teddy bears.

       2. Donna, you changed insurance companies because you hated the mascot?! And so many “smart” marketers insist that never happens.

          Thanks for writing!

    3. Can not stand emu and doug … the most obnoxious commercial on the air … placates viewers, is not remotely funny, not even remotely informative. What is the purpose? To annoy viewers beyond all comprehension? I’m embarassed to say I ever worked for such a company that would do this to a viewing public.

       1. And it states in the opening that Emu rhymes with Limu. No it doesn’t. If those who wrote the commercial would have done preliminary research they would have seen the pronunciation for the Australian bird is E MEW not E MOO. So, emu doesn’t rhyme with limu. This incorrect pronunciation makes it that much more difficult for teachers to teach children correct grammar.

          Further, as a result of Liberty Mutual’s incompetence I just watched a program by a Hollywood Entertainment company about the Australian firefighters calendar and the Hollywood people are calling the bird an E MOO and the Australians are stating E MEW. What a disaster.

18. Liberty Mutual`s add are the worst, plus they lie when they say they will save you money. I used to have on 2 vehicles and my house with them. I switched and now save over $8000 a year, that’s right $8000 a year and I have better coverage.

19. Ad men need to read the David Ogilvy book on advertising. DZ

    1. That, and Bob Garfield’s And Now a Few Words From Me: Advertising’s Leading Ad Critic Lays Down the Law Once and For All. Because very few ad people in the industry are doing it right.

20. My question is exactly what audience they’re appealing to with the dated 70’s cop motif? Boomers?

    When I think “insurance”, I want sleek, modern 2020, an sharp app and ultrafast claims systems behind the scenes.

    The image these commercials give me is something old, outdated, worn out, 70’s drab colors. As if you’ll have to get your claim by going to an old office with yellowed acoustic tile, where someone uses an ancient, old-style terminal screen at a desk while people wait in line. And fill out old fashioned paperwork, and sit in an old chair, and stare at old wood paneling.

    Negative association is bad marketing.

    1. Couldn’t agree with you more, Wintercat. My guess is the marketing people at Liberty Mutual caught “mascot fever” and couldn’t resist the “LiMu” play on the company name.

       That was short-sighted, in my opinion. As you say, insurance today ought to look sleek, easy, and modern, not old and yellowed.

       But hey, marketers love to chase shiny new toys. Kind of like cats. And just like cats, I suspect the marketers at Liberty Mutual will find a new shiny toy soon.

    2. When I think “insurance,” I think rates. That’s it. I don’t need cutesy/annoying/”funny”/whatever mascots to act out some lame, irrelevant skit. Tell me whose price you’ll match. Tell me why you’re better than everyone else. Tell me about your PRODUCT. All of these commercials are annoying, because they don’t tell me a thing I actually need to know. I hate making phone calls, and these commercials leave me no choice.

       1. You nailed it, Lee! A good ad focuses on selling the product. Cutesy characters and clever dialog (if we are so lucky) only matter if they tell people why they should consider a product or service.

          As you say, ads like Liberty Mutual’s provide none of the information a person needs to make a purchase decision. The result? Consumers are forced to search out their own reasons to buy. And in the case of insurance, it almost always comes down to price — perhaps the least important consideration when buying insurance coverage.

          Thanks for the great comment!

21. There is only one thing in life worse than being talked about, and that is not being talked about. — Oscar Wilde

    And while I didn’t count all the comments here, the ads are clearly doing their job. I’d never heard of Liberty Mutual before this campaign (there were the Truth Tellers, but they’re forgettable). It’s all brand recognition and ear-worming the jingle. And it’s working.

    The whole gripe here on the blog is that instead, the agency should, “…be different, smarter, better?” and, “Why not stand for something more?” For god’s sakes, man: its car insurance. It’s not space exploration, curing cancer or COVID for that matter. Get some perspective.

    Frankly, I love the Emu & Doug. It’s absurdist, making it memorable. That’s the only point. Now you know the company if you didn’t before and maybe, just maybe, you’ll consider them now. For the record, We do own passionate pillow-guy’s pillows, and sleep pretty damn well on them too.

    1. While I appreciate the Oscar Wilde quote, Yoda Mann, I suspect that it may not apply here. Fortunately for Mr. Wilde, he never had to watch a Liberty Mutual commercial.

       And I stand by my suggestion that Liberty Mutual do something “different, better, and smarter” than its competitors. It’s not so far-fetched an idea, particularly when you consider the company aired this fantastic commercial in 2006:

       https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=76h8jbjZqOI

       Isn’t that a much more relevant and resonant message for an insurance company today? In the Year of Our Lord 2020, when plagues are spreading and cities are burning, I think many of us would welcome a return to such messaging. Even if the company has lost its appetite for such sophistication, it would make sense to differentiate Liberty Mutual from all the other clowns in the room. Don’t you think?

       Thank you for the thoughtful post, Yoda Man. Stop back anytime!

       1. That 2006 one was an excellent ad. Gives me ideas for my writing and stays with me, even if I don’t remember everything. The message is clear and concise, in addition to, as you said, being uplifting.

          LiMu Emu and Doug are cringy at best. It’s probably best not to say what they are at worst. They’re often lame (“wake me”), offensive (“I can save you”), or boring (“after all these years” with the elevator ‘flashback’). Nothing original, nothing noteworthy, and nothing inspiring happens in any of those. I forget most of them because they are so bad.

          I think back fondly of the early 90’s Golden Boy ads for Golden Grahams. Those were clever and fun. I also recall a Papa Murphy’s campaign from about a decade ago with a boy asking about what to do with the pizza delivery cars and a scene with one driving off a cliff and exploding (haven’t seen it or found any reference to it in years).

          Thanks for these reviews. They are very good.

22. When these completely ignorant commercials come on, I want to shove screwdrivers in my ears. You lost me as a potential customer with 3 vehicles, 2 RV’s, and 2 boats. Your advertising manager should be slapped, wasting your money on these stupid ads.

    1. The sad thing is in the last couple of weeks everyone seems to be jumping into stupidity commercials. From insurance to carry out food. I guess they think this virus B.S. has lowered our IQs.

       1. “The last couple of weeks,” James? My goodness, you’re generous. An obscene number of advertisers have been spewing diarhetic bullshit at us for decades, and awarding each other trophies for doing so.

          But the joke’s on them. We’re not the ones with the low IQs.

    2. People keep telling me these ads don’t hurt sales, but then I see comments like this — and the company’s Q2 financial results.

       See Also

       Is The Liberty Mutual Emu A Real Bird - The Bird Identifier‘Emus can break bones’: stop buying giant birds on a whim, farmers warnHow LiMu Emu & Doug Became Liberty Mutual’s Spokescharacter DuoLiberty Mutual’s ‘LiMu Emu’ is already a hit - The Boston Globe

23. I assume these ads born out of and endless string of frustrated emails and memos at the agency over how to deal with the LiMu (LIberty MUtual) account.

    1. That’s one possibility, Joe. Or maybe author James Hold is correct and “Limu Emu & Doug” are a not-so-subtle pinch of “O’Ryan & His Ostrich” which first appeared in his book 2016 book, Incidental Contact. (See a few posts below.)

       The world may never know!

       1. You’re right about the world may never know. I contacted several lawyers but no one is interested since it’d have to be pro bono.(I’m retired and living on social security.) City and local newspapers aren’t interested. Nor do our TV “consumer activists” care about it. All I can do is post comments about LM being a bunch of crooks in stealing my INCIDENTAL CONTACT idea and hope word spreads. Thank you for mentioning it.

24. Still “on extended furlough” so still at home watching a lot of tv. And I thought I’d been noticing a lot fewer Liberty Mutual assaults on our intelligence. But all of a sudden, they’ve arisen again with a couple of new ones, neither imaginative or intelligent. Just continued assaults. I hope they end up going out of business over this.

    But again, they have no monopoly on this. Breakfast sausage, other insurance companies, fast food “contactless delivery”, and particularly that new chubby kid pitching a disgusting drive-in “food” provider. So much to bitch about. But wait, I have a sudden urge to go download Microsoft Teams on my PC. Why? I have no idea. Maybe I can talk about new treatment strategies with a bunch of doctors.

    1. May I suggest streaming movies on Netflix, Robert? At my house, we’re recording more shows and watching them later when we can fast-forward through the dumb ads. Saves time and brain cells.

       And yes, Liberty Mutual has a new round of ads out. Still stupid. You’d think that by now, someone over there might have created one good ad even by accident. But no.

       Anyway, buy a Roku. Get Netflix and Vudu and Pluto TV and some others. You may still see ads, but they’re fewer and far less annoying than the extended commercial breaks on regular TV.

       1. I’ve actually found myself just leaving the TV off and doing some long overdue cleanup outside. Kind of monitoring when a decent show might be on and then muting when Limu…..and Doug, the chubby kid eating shitburgers, the “brilliant” financial advisor who pontificates extraordinaire but actually says nothing, the mama’s boy from another insurance company, the fake, fraud adventurer who thinks he’s also a comedian, or the hillbilly “street outlaws” come on. I’m wearing the mute button out!!

       2. Support your local PBS station with $5 a month, and you get access to thousands of PBS programs, including NOVA, the best science show ever. There’s a Passport for mobile devices and the PBS app for smart TVs and boxes.

          It’s the opposite of dumb American TV.

    2. “Limu Emu & Doug” are a total rip-off of “O’Ryan & His Ostrich” which first appeared in my book INCIDENTAL CONTACT published in 2016. They refuse to reply to any inquires about this and blocked me from their Facebook page.

       1. Hello, James! Sure enough, I just checked out your book’s product page on Amazon. Publish date: October 26, 2016. Also starring a man and his big, flightless bird.

          Have you sought legal counsel? If you think you have a case, you should talk to someone. I’m sure Liberty Mutual would have little choice but to respond if they received a letter from your attorney.

          Here is a link to Mr. Hold’s book (Kindle edition) for anyone interested:

          Link

          Good luck, James!

       2. Well to prove your point, now they have the Emu sticking its head in the sand. Sorry Liberty, that’s a wise tell of an ostrich. I think the only one who needs to stick their heads in the sand, is your writers and commercial producers. Maybe this is how you sale policies to people. Hide your head and guess.

          1. Yep, the ol’ emu head-in-the-sand trick. Haha. Almost as spootid as the other insurance company that ends one of their commercials by having a neighborhood HOA director commit a serious Federal felony on someone’s mailbox.

25. 1. As per notes above….Limu the Emu is partly real/ partly computer-generated. My ? = Is Doug real ?

    2. This has to be one of the most obnoxious ads I’ve encountered in the recent past. Not necessarily for content but rather its frequency. How many times must we watch this ? Ever hear of the “Law of Diminishing Returns” ? I have used my remote to silence or change channels but at some point….etc etc etc.

    3. Because of this ad, I am NEVER going to purchase insurance from Liberty Mutual. But I did try EMU in a chinese stir fry I made last week. Tastes ever BETTER than flank steak. Make sure that you marinate it in a little soy sauce/sherry/cornstarch/sugar first.

    1. Hi, Aaron. Good observations. Totally agree with you about the frequency of Liberty Mutual ads. It’s WAY too much. Past a certain point, ads become obnoxious and start to hurt the brand.

       Which is the point you’re at, by the sound of it. Welcome to the party! This page is rife with comments from people like you who have sworn off Liberty Mutual insurance because of these ads.

       Oh, and congrats on the delicious emu stir fry. It’s good to know that bird is good for something. 😛

       1. Stir fry? I find Emu better slow cooked in a smoker. This is the only way I could enjoy their commercial bird.

    2. With all of the stupid and insulting insurance commercials out there I’m finding it hard to tell which company to go with. If their commercials are stupid, is their agents and policies just as bad? Why would you trust a company with a insulting commercial with protecting you and your vehicle?

       1. You’re exactly right, James. All of these insurance commercials are starting to look the same. Everyone’s a clown now!

          I agree, it makes the companies look unserious and puts my faith in them in doubt.

          But hey, all those cool ad people get to clap themselves on the back and tell each other how creative they are!

          Thanks for reading.

          1. Liberty Mutual commercials are right up there with Allstate………..HORRIBLE

             1. You know maybe we need a contest vote on which ad agency is the worst. Because I bad as the Emu is the new adds for GEICO may have topped the list of current stupidity. Really aunts in the house, rats, ect. What do you think? Oh, I almost forgot turtles worried about being eaten by a vulture. Really vultures eat dead things like the commercial.

                1. And don’t forget about the HOA lady that commits a Federal felony

                   1. When it comes to commercial the more you forget the better you are

26. I’m a “online posting virgin.” A little embarrassing since I’ve also been a music teacher since 1973, so you can imagine what it might take for an aging boomer such as myself to take “keyboard in hand” as it were. However, having been pummeled by Liberty Mutual’s LiMu Emu (sp?) ad campaign, I feel impelled to call “Point of Order” for a moment. Let me start by saying that I “get” the advertising prime directive, a corporate version of “…no such thing as bad publicity…” having watched TV ads from their truly primitive genesis in the 50s of my childhood to the manipulative psycho-scientific constructs of today.
    It has long been my position that policy makers in my profession are wasting their time in their pursuit of “How do we get kids to…(fill in the blank)…more measurably, more sustainably, more quickly,” …etc, etc. Hey, school boards and superintendents, don’t promote seminars, workshops, and professional development activities with education professionals trying to reinvent the wheel. Forget Bill Gates and Khan. Advertisers already know how to do it. They’ve been doing it for decades. No company pays millions and millions of dollars from an ad budget because it doesn’t work and nobody’s watching.You want to address site security for an elementary school that’s effective but doesn’t make you feel like you’re in a prison camp? Don’t call a summit of “stakeholders.” Call Disney. They already know how to do it and do it better than anyone.
    This is why I’m so shocked at how poorly ad men have handled the Liberty Mutual campaign. Major strategic blunder on their part.
    You can’t take a target audience like people from my generation during a forced pandemic lockdown, whose main source of news and information is TV and force them to listen to that damned siren and that hopeless squid screaming, “Give me your hand!” and “I can save you!” while he races down a highway, 3 feet away from another car NOT LOOKING WHERE HE’S GOING and representing an auto INSURANCE company! Ridiculous. Even worse because you have to see and hear this clown over and over and over again. Day in, day out. There’s a fine line between effective repetition and torture. The captivity of the Covid audience caused that line to disappear.
    The only break people got was having to be tortured day and night by that blue-shirted lunatic with his “passion” and his damned pillows. You see? That’s business. You have a choice. So, “What lake do you want to drown in?”
    Once divinity of doctrine has been questioned, there is no return to perfect faith. So the only question left for a former “online posting virgin” to ask is, “Was it good for you?”.

    1. Hello, Theo! And congratulations. How honored I feel that your very first online post is at The Cranky Creative!

       You make great points. I really thought the COVID-19 lockdowns would force advertisers to change their strategies and tone. Brands had a real opportunity to step up and do better. But what did we get? An army of samey, say-nothing ads that all opened with sad piano music and a variation of “In these challenging times . . ..”

       So much for creative genius.

       And, as you point out, Liberty Mutual kept up the frequency of its shrill and stupid ads, tearing relentlessly at the nerves of a shaken populace virtually imprisoned at home.

       I call that insensitive, impolite, and utterly incompetent. Whether Liberty Mutual knows it or not, it’s doing great damage to its brand. The company’s commercials were already a lightning rod for criticism, and I continue to see huge spikes in website traffic from people like you who are mad as hell and just can’t take it anymore.

       That the company’s advertising drove you to write your very first Internet post on anything ever is, to me, a sure sign that the people in charge of Liberty’s advertising are no longer attracting potential customers, but repelling them with fire.

       May they reap all the poisonous seeds they have sown.

       Thank you for writing!

    2. That “blue-shirted guy and his damned pillows!” Brilliant! That one is also interminable; always shows up in the middle of half-way decent dabl shows. I’m told that fellow is a rabid right-wing hack. Part of the current diabolical squad in DC.

       1. Hi, Monish. Yes, I myself know of a few people who find the My Pillow commercials grating. Personally, I didn’t much like the ones with founder Mike Lindell talking to people from inside their bathroom mirrors. (I understand this setup was an homage to the Right Guard deodorant commercials of the late 1970s, but I guess I am too young to get the joke.)

          Anyway, think what you will about his politics, but Mike Lindell has done some good things in life. Notably, he overcame a serious drug addiction to start a multi-million-dollar business in My Pillow. He credits his faith for his sobriety and says he’s been clean since 2009. Lindell also started the Lindell Foundation, a faith-based foundation that donated goods to victims of Hurricane Harvey in 2017 and now helps people with addictions, people with cancer, and veterans. Earlier this year, Lindell shifted a large percentage of his My Pillow production to make face masks for health care workers amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

          And I can tell you firsthand, My Pillows are legit. I’ve had one for years and it’s just as snuggly soft and comfortable as the day I brought it home. 🙂

          Here is a link to that goofy Right Guard ad. It’s not a great idea, but My Pillow did it better.

27. I have never commented on an ad (or really anything else) publicly on line before. I’m not in insurance or advertising. But I’ve been feeling increasingly driven to allocate some precious time to complaining about these for months now. I can’t hold back any longer.

    The Limu Emu campaign are candidly the absolutely worst ads on TV these days — hands down. They among the worst ever in terms of stupidity, an insult to the intelligence that approaches the patently offensive treatment of race and gender in ads of yesteryear minus the redeeming opportunities for ironic snark. The next most atrocious ads currently defiling the small screen, Liberty Mutual’s own other ads with the actor who can’t learn lines, come in at a distant second! That’s really saying something awful considering how many uncreative, uncompelling ads continuously bombard airwaves these days. (I’m old enough to remember when the initial value proposition for subscribing to cable was paying to avoid commercials!) Candidly, I’d rather listen to voiceover recitals of grizzly pharmaceutical side effects while watching smiling actors do mindless outdoor activity with their fake families.

    I have never previously boycotted a company to protest its obnoxious advertising, but this campaign is just too unimaginably and excrementally unviewable. I would never get insurance from these people ever — EVER IN A MILLION YEARS — just for have the poor judgment, insensitivity, and low opinion of prospective clients to subject the viewing public to these ads. There simply must be commercial consequences for the horrifically ill-advised and misconceived manner in which Liberty Mutual has polluted what should be the routine and non-stressful act of watching the freaking (and disturbing enough in its own right, these days) news! PLEASE JOIN THIS BOYCOTT AND GET YOUR FRIENDS, FAMILY, AND OTHER ASSOCIATES TO AS WELL!!!

    If you found this and got this far, you likely already know painfully well why this ad campaign sucks worse than all others.

    But, to summarize, among the abominable aspects of these commercials are (and this list is not exhaustive):
    — FAILURED HUMOR: Whoever wrote these scripts has no comic sense of timing, word play, subtlety, body language, or anything that could possibly make these funny.
    — LACK OF IMAGINATION: As the author of this piece points out well, this appears to be the product of a highly paid team of corporate ad hacks with zero imagination trying to remedy Liberty Mutual’s apparent mascot envy on deadline with as little effort and ingenuity as humanly possible. Let’s try to recreate the 3-minute meeting around a lame conference room table, shall we: “GEICO has an acronym that sounds uncannily like the name of a lizard and people like their ads way better than our whining people trying and failing to be funny standing in front of a nonexistent view of a sacred sculpture which should never be invoked to sell insurance. I think we need an enhanced and revised strategy. Any ideas? — I’ve got it. Let’s make up a non-organic portmanteau abbreviation for our client’s company and think of an animal name that rhymes with it. If it doesn’t really rhyme, we’ll distort the pronunciation of the portmanteau ’til it does? Do you see the genius? — Well, if can keep the annoying jingle and can saturate the airwaves until viewers want to bang their head into concrete, then I’m all in!”
    — IGNORANCE/MISUNDERSTANDING OF TARGETED GENRE: A slightly different atrocity than the pure humor failures enumerated above, these ads show zero understanding of the societal or interpersonal dynamics of the 70s cop partner TV shows the ads try and failure to lampoon. I watched (reruns of) those shows as a kid. There’s plenty to ridicule in that genre, but Liberty Mutual’s ad campaign betrays an adolescently superficial understanding of what made those shows tick that miserably bungles and misses every opportunity for incisive mockery. Even the efforts to mock period clothing and hair styles, which present many obvious opportunities
    — LACK OF CONNECTION BETWEEN ATTEMPTED HUMOR AND PRODUCTS/SERVICES: These ads violently offend the viewers’ intelligence by not even trying to offer a pretext that would connect the failed jokes and botched homage scenarios to the insurance products on offer. Rather, the poorly directed actor just shouts the misleading (see below) slogan randomly in the middle of the rushed and ill-conceived (oh, and — did I mention? — NOT funny) cop show plot fragments.
    — FALSE DIFFERENTIATOR: The ads fail not only comically, but also substantively. The author of the piece above makes an important point that sickened me from the first viewing and has got worse with each of the subsequent thousands of involuntary viewings. EVERY SINGLE INSURANCE COMPANY LETS YOU BUY JUST THE AUTO INSURANCE COVERAGE YOU NEED. IT IS A DECEPTIVE AND ILLEGAL PRACTICE TO TRY TO SELL SOMEONE INSURANCE THEY DON’T NEED BY PRETENDING THEY DO! Oh boy, you guys won’t defraud me, I better switch to you as my insurer. Really? That’s equivalent saying, “Everyone dine at our restaurant chain and you pay just for food that doesn’t contain contaminants that give you food poisoning.”
    — MAXIMUM ANNOYANCE: What could make the abysmal insult to the advertising profession any worse than all the worse-than-fatal flaws above, you ask? Force the inane script to be screamed at the top of the misdirected actor’s lungs. Yuck, bleck, double yeck, fooey, gag, cover yer ears.

    Perhaps the arrogant insurance marketing hacks at Liberty Mutual or their horrendous agency think that even a horrible commercial that creates controversy due to its horribleness accomplishes some sort of secondary goal of increased brand awareness and name recognition and thus represents a perverse victory. Not so here: this is offensive and counterproductive.

    This is cinder block through the screen set stuff!!!

    JOIN US IN THIS MOVEMENT TO NEVER BUY INSURANCE FROM THESE PEOPLE!!! BOYCOTT SO “LIMU” DOESN’T GET AWAY WITH THIS INSULT WITH IMPUNITY!!!

    1. When you have to sit through Limu Emu commercials:

       
       
       

       1. That’s pretty good, Harry. I’d have LOL’d if it weren’t so true.

       2. I got one of those helmets coming in the mail if i have to see one more of those liberty commercials

          1. Oh, Earl, I’m way past the helmets. Drinking helps, but still not enough.

    2. OMG!! I was just going to send my own review tonight but you have captured everything I detest about this commercial!

       I second that! I am so fed up with this LAME commercial!

    3. I am in total agreement with you. I RUSH to fast-forward (if a taped show) or I mute the stupid commercial. I actually wouldn’t consider this agency for my insurance because the of the idiocy of those who deemed this as an acceptable ad. Good God, someone put the emu and the actor out to the farm and out of our misery. Please!

       1. Dolly, I’ve no idea how this campaign has lasted this long. It’s very polarizing and from what I’ve seen, most people feel a strong animosity for LiMu Emu and Doug.

          But LOTS of people are talking about it. My guess is the folks at Liberty Mutual are mistaking attention for affection. We’ll see if they ever catch on.

    4. Everybody is sick of Doug and his Dumb ass Bird commercials. Dumb Ass commercials are one thing but for heavens sake please not the same one over and over again. Super annoying a lot of folks including me turn the channel when one of their commercials come on. They are in competition with Joe Namath and Tom Selleck for Dumb Ass of the year. Looks like it might end up in a tie for the nomination.

       1. You’re right, Andy. Dumb commercials are one thing. Endless, ear-ripping repetition is something else entirely. And Liberty Mutual is one of the worst offenders I know.

    5. I totally agree. We change the channel every time this ad is on. The poor emu has to be next to Hoffman, who acts like a jerk. He isn’t even funny. Sad ads.

       1. Hi, Karl. I’m noticing a lot more people bagging on Doug (David Hoffman) these days. It’s interesting because in the beginning, people seemed to like him. My theory is he jumped the shark with the recent ads showing him and LiMu Emu chasing down people in cars and on motorcycles — his yelling is just too much.

    6. The bird has more personality than Doug. Some of the worst commercials I have ever seen. My friends say the same. Thank God for the mute button.

    7. I like the emu, it’s so dumb looking I have to laugh.

    8. I don’t see my comment so I guess you didn’t like it.LOL

       1. Oh, Brooklyn. Of course I liked your comment! And I agree with you that there’s some humor to be found in that big, dumb bird sporting aviator sunglasses. I’m sure I chuckled a bit the first time I saw Emu spitting up coins on the desk in the police station in the spot, “The Board.” (Video in article.)

          Thanks for stopping by!

28. Since being put on “extended furlough” and sheltering in place, I’ve watched a lot of TV. And unfortunately, as annoying as the Liberty Mutual commercials are, they certainly have no monopoly in that area. Those breakfast sausage commercials, voiced over by a dead Country-Western singer that show up at just about every commercial break on every channel are getting to be like fingernails on a chalk board. And the promos on a certain “science” channel hyping a pseudo-factual show with some screeching female “singing” some unintelligible lyrics also show up every 10 minutes. Potty breaks anyone?

    1. I’m with you, Robert. Those Jimmy Dean commercials with the grating harmonica have been raking their fingernails down the chalkboard of my nerves, too. It doesn’t help that poor old Jimmy died way back in 2010 and we’re all listening to the voice of a ghost.

       Ditto on the pseudo science shows — both the programming and the advertising. I’m pretty sure I know the screeching female “singing” you’re referring to, and yeah, it’s shitty.

29. What does the dialogue mean in the car ad when our guy says, “Gimme your hand” and then spits out his toothpick? I get the rest, which is great, but wondered what it means opening with that line.
    Thanks,
    hitmeimopen

30. I know you’ve mentioned the ad agency responsible for these abhorrent ads. I’ve scrolled through everything but can’t find who they are. But wasn’t it McMahon and Tate?

    1. Oh, Robert, you almost got me! But I recognized your Bewitched reference . . . unless it was a Simpsons reference instead?

       In any case, Goodby, Silverstein and Partners is the agency behind the Liberty Mutual ads.

       Thanks for the fond memories. 😛

31. It’s difficult to decide which is worse. The emu commercials or the Haribro commercials. The “only pay for what you need” ads with the emu and Doug make no sense. Who’s going to tell a customer how much insurance they should buy? And the Haribro commercial with adults talking like 4 yr olds. What market are they going for?

32. Now they’re showing that stupid car chase commercial, the one where “Doug” catches up the the other car and hands her his card. Fucking hate it so fucking much. It’s been at least five months they’ve been showing that painfully unfunny commercial. I don’t mind their other ads. Even the other Limu Emu ads aren’t as awful, but now I’ve developed an overwhelming, irrational hatred for “Doug”. I have fantasies about strangling him. That’s how much I hate that commercial. None of the other companies’ commercials have enraged me so.

    1. Hey, Paulo.

       Is that the one with Doug and LiMu Emu on the motorcycle and the police “siren” whirring like a crackhead with a kazoo?

       Or the one in the car where the woman gives Doug a wary look and rolls up her window?

       Both rile me; the former more than the latter.

       Thanks for reading.

33. Wayyyy too frequent airings.
    And why does the (annoying) jingle say “liberdy”? What happened to the “t”?
    Oh, wait a secont, now I know.

    1. Right, Silas. It is possible to have too much of a good thing . . . Or in this case, too much soul-sucking, face-wrenching, nails-on-chalkboard stupidity.

       Oh, and what happened to the ‘t’? Seems softened on purpose. My guess is they thought some people might get hurt on the pointy edges.

34. So the guy in that stupid Emu ad is also the writer… why is that not surprising (or maybe he’s somebody’s ‘brother-in-law)?!
    Geez, if they can’t even afford a decent ad agency or actors, why would anyone trust ’em to pay a claim?

    1. Hey, Ming. Where did you hear that Doug (David Hoffmann) writes the LiMu Emu commercials? I know Hoffman bills himself an actor and writer, but I’m pretty sure the creatives at ad agency Goodby, Silverstone and Partners write the ads.

35. This was one of their good commercials from a long time ago:

    1. Yes indeed, Mary. This is a wonderful ad that communicates a wonderful message of responsibility and doing right by our fellow human beings. I imagine that many of us would appreciate these values in an insurance company.

       Today’s Liberty Mutual commercials look downright dopey in comparison.

       1. And when did they go to the outrageous colors yellow. That doesn’t inspire ANY buying

       2. We just saw the Liberty Mutual TV commercial with DOUG and his helicopter for about the hundredth time just today! In the next exciting Liberty Mutual commercial we hope DOUG will fly his yellow helicopter straight into the ground at full speed and both he and that annoying fucking EMU burn to death in the crash and the fires of hell.

    2. Allstate insurance commercials in the restaurant where all the people are so amazed at the spokesperson they keep saying safe drivers save 40 percent, I want to beat them with a club, get a fucking life please

       1. Argh! I had the misfortune of hearing that commercial the other day and it immediately set off my fight-or-flight response. It’s another cheap audio gimmick, and it’s absolutely maddening.

          Keep that mute button handy!

36. Couldn’t agree more! These ads got to go!

    Here is the contact information for those of you who want to copy and paste what you’ve written and send directly to liberty mutual:
    Contact:
    David H. Long, Chairman and CEO
    Liberty Mutual Insurance
    175 Berkeley Street
    Boston, Massachusetts 02116
    Phone: 617-357-9500

    Customer Service
    ​Phone: 1-800-290-8206; 1-800-290-7933
    Tweet: @AskLiberty for customer service related concerns or inquiries.
    “CONTACT US” Via Liberty Mutual Insurance Website

    Go to: http://www.libertymutualgroup.com
    Fill Out Form
    Under Topic, click “Regarding our advertisements” button
    Add your comments to the Comments box
    Hit Submit

    1. Thanks for sharing this info, Karen!

       Absolutely, agree — tell advertisers what you think!

37. I hate all the recent Liberty Mutual commercials. Did they get a new marketing director? They used to target responsible people (which would usually be responsible drivers). I wouldn’t want to drive anywhere near their current target audience. And the one with the “hot guy” who can’t say his lines and the irritated director has started playing before youtube videos…it’s so annoying…she’s started saying take 96 in the most annoyed voice, which make me annoyed and I get so annoyed at Liberty Mutual for making me watch 5 seconds of the stupid ad…I have very negative feelings toward them. Then the progressive commercial with that weird guy who hold the processive sign and is so one dimension. That’s his whole life…very strange. Why do these people think we buy insurance? I care about how my claim will be handled if I have one, not some stupid weird, hard to relate to nonsense. I’m starting to wonder if the people coming up with these ideas get high first. I don’t see how they make anyone want to buy insurance.

    1. Great post, Mary. I’m going to do advertisers a favor here and highlight one key thing you said:

       “Why do these people think we buy insurance? I care about how my claim will be handled if I have one, not some stupid weird, hard to relate to nonsense.”

       I ought to plaster that all over the home page of this site.

       Also — I hadn’t seen the Progressive commercial with the weird guy who holds the Progressive sign. Now that I have, yeah — it’s another dire “what-were-they-thinking?” moment.

38. Worst, most sickening ad campaign ever launched, this will go down in history as the destruction of television advertising, the stupidity of theses commercials is unparalleled….

    1. OMG, Ron, can I bear your children??!!?? Lol

39. I am certainly no fan of Liberty Mutual and their insulting commercial. Awhile back ago, Liberty Mutual quoted me a fantastic rate on insurance for 2 vehicles, a primary residence, and a rent house. However, they raised my rates an average of 15% over the next 4-5 years. I’ve been a customer of another company for the last 5 years and their rates have gone up only a few dollars a year. So, not only was I being insulted by their commercials, I was paying for them!!

    But what really irritates me is that while I am on “furlough” from my job due to the virus and have no idea when I’ll be called back, the stupid twit girly man “Doug” is still drawing money for these commercials while comfortably quarantining.

    1. Oops, forgot to say that the 15% increases were for each year I had coverage with LM!! And only 1 auto claim in those years

       1. Yes, Robert, I figured the 15% increase was for each year, but thanks for clarifying.

          I’d have switched insurance carriers too!

    2. Hi, Robert. Thanks for sharing your experience with Liberty Mutual. I’m glad to hear you are no longer funding their dumb commercials!

       Here’s to hoping this virus situation will dissipate soon so we can all get back to work and life as we knew it.

       Hang in there!

    3. I take a back seat to no one when it comes to DESPISING every single commercial this company has made for the last few years, starting with the people standing in front of the statue, right up through the moronic, offensive and actually DANGEROUS “Doug” series. (It’s dangerous, because in one ad, Doug and the flightless sack of salmonella sitting next to him actually speed up on the highway to start yelling at a couple of women in an adjacent car. Not exactly the kind of driving that auto insurance companies should be encouraging.)

       I will NEVER EVER buy insurance from this company, or from any insurance company that annoys the EFF out of me several times a day on tv, radio and YouTube. (I’m talking to you, Flo, Mayhem Guy, and the bum-ba-bum-bum-bum-bum-bum folks with their museum of disasters).

       All that said, the guy who plays Doug is just an actor. He’s just trying to make a living. He’s making decent money from the ads, no doubt! But the people you SHOULD be mad at are the real bigwigs: the company’s marketing department and the advertising agency…they’re the ones who came up with this load of manure masquerading as a campaign! And they’re the only ones who can STOP INFLICTING IT ON US!

40. This is clearly a rip off of the aflac duck. It’s so embarrassing and cringy liberty mutual is trying way too hard to be funny in this skits and it just comes out as a fail. I’m annoyed everytime these commercials air and it just makes me want to avoid Liberty mutual all together. As if their uncreative, annoying jingle wasn’t bad enough… that’s the smartest slogan they can come up with? Saying the first part of their name repetitively? Fire the marketing department.

    1. You said it, Keyli. As embarrassing as these commercials are, I can’t imagine someone asking me who my insurance carrier is and having to answer with “Liberty Mutual.”

       The name conjures up such a clown show nowadays that I’d be mortified.

       Thank you for writing, Keyli.

       Oh, and Liberty Mutual . . . are you listening?

41. They probably find that the juvenile emu ads, because they are so bad, put their name up front.
    On a practical level, the one where they are in a car crossing a bridge and Doug yells. “Give me your hand.” while the car is moving is antithetical not only to insurance but to rules of the road. Who writes these things? And, who approves them?

    1. Yeah, my thoughts exactly Tony. A car insurance company that seems to promote dangerous driving? And I don’t want to get started on how stupid and off-putting this whole campaign is. Their agency or whoever is responsible for these “ads” is totally ruining their brand image.

    2. Wouldn’t take their insurance if they paid me because of the annoying emu ads!

    3. Yes, I agree. Really the only function of these ads is to hit people over the head with “Liberty, Liberty, Liberty” as often as possible.

       Outlandish premise? Check.
       Loud voices and noises? Check.
       Annoying, repetitive jingle? Check.

       These commercials are feather-covered sledgehammers with no regard for the art of selling and seemingly little awareness of WHAT they are selling. Speeding cars and motorcycles driven recklessly? From a car-insurance company? This is irresponsible marketing malpractice.

       Thanks for commenting.

42. Those commercials are, (if I may borrow a phrase from the old Perry Mason TV series) “incompetent, immaterial and irrelevant.” VERY annoying.

    1. And with that, the prosecution rests.

       Thanks for the great comment, Colleen!

    2. If these commercials reflect the mentality of what Liberty Mutual is catering to,then those people should not even be driving in the first place. What a sad example of what the advertising industry has to offer!

43. Indeed, I googled to see who else finds every one of these utterly moronic “Limu Emu” commercials abysmal- and I am not surprised that a great many (probably an overwhelming many) are in complete agreement. I think among absolutely, irretrievably stupid commercials, these are the champs, hands down! Numero Uno, no competition. Every time I am forced to witness the idiot (Doug, I think is the bloke’s name) scream to another driver, “I can save you!”- even someone otherwise avowedly non-violent as myself feels like smacking the guy in the face. “Zoltar” by the Statue of Liberty is sort of OK, though. Not brilliant- but barely passable by their pathetic standards.

    1. I completely agree, this ad is moronic. Whoever okayed this should be fired.

       1. Actually, Cathy, the people who created and approved these ads are probably very happy with themselves. Such is the state of today’s advertising industry.

          That’s why I encourage you to tell advertisers what you think of their commercials — to help them understand what works and what makes us hate their brands. Visit their websites or social media pages and leave your feedback. Make your voice heard!

          Thanks for reading.

          1. Good point, Rob. I appreciate you reminding people that we have– and should use– our voice of disapproval when brands subject us to this kind of crap! I’ve gone to LM’s website and left comments (probably not too nice)… They actually have a link (tab) to “comment on our TV ads”… IKR?

             1. Good on you for telling Liberty Mutual what you think, Mark. I’m sure you saw plenty of similar feedback while you were there.

                Interesting that Liberty has a dedicated tab to encourage feedback on its ads. I didn’t know that!

                Folks, make use of it.

                Thanks for sharing.

                1. Hi Rob,

                   (6/29/20 update)… Liberty Mutual has removed the link “Comment on Our TV Commercials” from their website.

                   Too many negative comments from your many reader/followers?

                   People can, however, email LM’s marketing dept: [email protected]
                   or at: [email protected]

                   I took the time to register my opinion on their ad campaign with Mr. Greenberg (his out-of-office auto-reply stated he will return on July 13th).

                   Thank you for providing us this exceptional forum to share opinions on advertising!

                   –Mark

                   1. Mark, thanks for sharing this. I visited the site and you are right — the link is no longer there.

                      It’s disappointing that Liberty is no longer asking for feedback on its ads, but perhaps (I hope!) this means they have heard us loud and clear and will be changing their campaigns soon.

                      We shall see!

                      Thanks for your eagle eye and for providing the links so people can continue to speak their minds.

    2. Hi, Monish. What can I say? I agree with you completely. I wish I could find some stats on how many people view Liberty Mutual commercials negatively or favorably, and I do plan to look into it more. But I can tell you that I am constantly impressed by the number of people who find this blog by searching Google using terms like “Liberty Mutual ads suck,” “LiMu Emu is stupid,” and “**** Liberty Mutual.” LOL

       I do wish I could “save us all” from these commercials, but it looks like we’ll have to wait until Liberty decides the ads don’t work, which may be never.

       Thanks for reading, and stop back anytime!

       1. Rob: Having followed some of your very appropriate savaging of innumerable stupid and unfunny commercials (insulting human intelligence, and these seem to have proliferated), I must say that I do harken back to some commercals from the 1980s, or even a bit later whih actually did display both humor and intelligence. I could immediately cite just about every one of the Bob Uecker “Light Beer” commercials (I even re-visit them once in a while, thanks to YouTube). Even among the Auto Insurance commercials, I actually enjoyed the well-crafted Geico “Rhetorical Questions” series with Mike McGlone. Remember “Is Ed “Too Tall Jones, um.. Too Tall?”

          1. Thanks for the memories, Monish! Yes, the 1980s were a fun decade for advertising. Those Bob Uecker ads for Lite beer are classics, and on top of that we had Apple’s “1984” ad and a slew of timeless slogans such as Wendy’s “Where’s the Beef?”

             Here’s a neat page with some more good ’80s ads: https://mascola.com/insights/history-of-advertising-1980s/

             Enjoy.

44. I for one won’t buy ANYTHING advertised on TV with the exception of Coca Cola but they only bug me around Christmas with their stupid polar bear advertising. I wonder what the people making these commercials would do if they had to get a real job.

    1. Not sure why all the hate. I think the concept of a Starsky and Hutch style team that includes a sidekick Emu is fantastic. I laugh at all of them, and the Emu is stupidly endearing. I think the ad campaign overall is brilliant. And that’s saying something considering I have a strong dislike of Liberty Mutual for the B.S. they pulled trying to pay 60% of a legitimate insurance claim. They eventually paid 100%, but it took weeks of back and forth. LiMu 2020!

       1. Are you for real?! No, you couldn’t be because anybody with a quarter of a brain would not find these ads funny, unless you’re the idiot who came up with the idea 🤪

          1. No, it’s just an opinion whether we like it or not. Many hate the commercial, and many don’t. I have seen many who love it. So, we can call them stupid, but they can call us stupid for stuff that we like that they hate.What I do know is that Liberty has been cranking out those commercials every minute for awhile now. A company won’t do that unless their product is making money.

             1. I get what you’re saying, Christy, but I think you are giving companies too much credit.

                You’d be surprised how many big corporations do dumb things that hurt their business. Oftentimes when marketers lack evidence to show that their ads are effective, they will resort to touting vanity metrics such as awareness. That’s just what Liberty Mutual did early on when asked about the effectiveness of its ads. The company said it was “building awareness” and “increasing recall” of its brand. Conspicuously absent from its answer was any mention of hard metrics such as the change in numbers for calls or new quotes.

                As famed former ad critic Bob Garfield once said of a laughably bad campaign for the Infiniti car brand, “… the advertiser and the agency became so seduced by the uproar that the ads were generating that they — like so many misguided souls — mistook awareness for affection.” This, as the company’s market share plummeted.

                It’s interesting to note that Liberty Mutual’s earnings for 2019 were down from the year before, including a net loss for the fourth quarter. The company reported another loss for the first quarter of this year, citing COVID-19 as a major factor.

                That’s what the company said. But I think it’s the marketing, too.

       2. Can’t believe LiMu has even 1 fan. What, do you work in their marketing dept? You MUST be a paid influencer for LiMu… C’mon, you can’t be for-real!

45. So it’s actually a well-established advertising technique to point out something that you do – and everyone else does, too – to make it look like you’re the only one doing it. Libbity Bibbity glommed onto this with their “only pay for what you need” campaign. It’s somewhat similar to Visa’s campaign for many years, “Be sure to bring your Visa card because they don’t take American Express.” Visa’s real competition was Mastercard, but Visa totally ignored them in their ads; made them, in effect, disappear. Smart advertising. (However, I really can’t stand those stupid emu commercials, either. There are some pretty bad campaigns out there and I think that’s one of the absolute worst.)

    1. Hey, M. Apologies for the late response — I’ve been doing some paid work lately and catching up on my sleep. 😛

       You make a good point with your observations about Liberty’s tactic and how it relates to Visa and American Express. Another classic example, if memory serves, is the 1917 ad campaign, “It’s toasted,” for Lucky Strike cigarettes. Though Lucky Strike probably wasn’t the only cigarette brand to heat-cure its tobacco, its decision to tout that feature helped to set it apart from competitors.

       Thanks for the great comment!

46. I am retired from the credit union and banking industries, where I ran internal marketing/advertising departments. I understand the need to stand out from the crowd. And I created my share of goofy ads. But good national advertising has to solve a legitimate probem(s) for a large number of people, or at least make the potential customer feel good about your product/service. Doug simply comes across as a pushy salesman, and the emu has ZERO personality.

    1. Duane, thank you for taking the time to post. I agree with you 100%.

       Liberty’s commercials neither address consumer concerns nor give people reasons to feel good about buying the company’s insurance. Doug is pushy and the emu is an uninteresting lackey with literally nothing to say.

       What this says about the ad world and the people who approved of these ads, I am too polite to say.

       Again, thank you for sharing your perspective as someone with professional experience in finance and advertising.

47. Name me one insurance company ad the isn’t either : stupid, obnoxious or insults your intelligence!! I’m waiting. They all seem to be out STUPIDING each other.

    1. Hey, Ron. Maybe State Farm? I think they’ve so far avoided goofy mascots and ridiculous premises in their ads. The “Jake from State Farm” ad is sort of funny.

       I dig that their ads seem to involve customers interacting with the company’s agents. Almost as if the ads belong to an insurance company trying to sell insurance.

       1. I agree- Jake from State Farm at 2 am is definitely funny. “What are you wearing, “Jake” from State Farm”- that’s pretty funny.

48. I don’t understand what image they were going for here. The Geico lizard commercials are often cool palette with a civilized character, it fits with Geico’s nicely done mobile app and Apple Wallet support.

    Why would you want something that doesn’t look “retro”, just outdated, as if you’d have to go file your claims in an old office with yellowing ceiling tile and an old CRT screen desktop PC and handwritten paperwork? That’s the mental image I get from the Liberty Mutual ads. That they’re outdated.

    1. I noticed that too, Anonymous. The dull yellow filter over the ads. (Video gamers call this effect a “piss filter,” as they don’t like it much either.)

       Add this to the pile of baffling decisions behind this entire stupid campaign.

49. I would NEVER purchase insurance thru Liberty Mutual because their ads with Emu are repulsive.

    1. Hi, Deborah. Yep, with the more recent ads showing LiMu Emu and Doug driving fast and recklessly in cars and on motorcycles, you really have to wonder what the hell this car-insurance company is thinking.

50. Thought the Progressive commercial with thunder thighs was bad. This ad is 10x worse. I’d like to know how they customize car insurance. You must have liability insurance and comp and collision if you have a loan. What’s to change?

    1. Bang on, Jim. Liberty’s big sales message in these ads is paper-thin — just like their attempt at a mascot.

51. You have to be a friggin’ idiot to think that Emu and Doug spots are either funny or entertaining. Whoever okayed this ad campaign at Liberty Mutual should be canned.

52. I didn’t have time to read all the comments— I read about half of them— but I was looking for someone to post a comment on what I hate about them: the bad grammar. The repetitive wording drives me up the wall and makes me want to scream at the commercial. “Pay for ONLY what you need.” Did I miss a comment on this?

    1. Oh, dear Kathryn. Grammar is the least of this campaign’s problems.

    2. You’re not the only one with an ear for the bad grammar. It’s like nails on a chalkboard every time I hear it.

    3. I agree 💯 % with the ‘bad grammar’ observation. People use ‘only’ in the wrong context all the time, but in a nationally televised commercial??!! The error in question is ‘misplaced modifier.’ Do ONLY pay because it’s all I can do? Or do I pay ONLY because that’s what I want to limit, i.e.; the amount I pay. LM commercials are hideously annoying and I mute within seconds of it hitting the air!

53. That Emu is so stupid. Doesn’t make me want to purchase insurance from Liberty Mutual.

54. Every insurance commercial on television sucks, including Doug, Mayhem, Flo and Jamie, Pinocchio, etc.

    1. You noticed that too, Michael? Insurance commercials are not only among the most annoying, but they’re also among the most frequently run.

       And GEICO’s new “Pinocchio” ads . . . Don’t even get me started.

       Thanks for your comment!

       1. Pinocchio is downright creepy in a sex offender vibe way my wife says, and I can’t disagree. I can’t say which one bothers me more, Limu Emu and Doug or the Pinocchio commercials. If the object was to offend and annoy the audience, these insurance companies have succeeded beyond their wildest expectations!!!

          1. You said it, Ron. You’ll be pleased to know that I’ve called out the GEICO Pinocchio commercials in my latest blog post, “Ear-ritating: How TV advertisers use sound to get our attention.”

             Thanks for reading!

55. Ugh, I HATE the current Liberty Mutual ads with a passion, to the point where I mute the TV when one comes on so I don’t have to hear that stupid jingle at the end. Nevertheless, I still sometimes get caught off guard (e.g. in another room when one comes on and I can’t get to the remote in time). When that happens, I’ve taken to literally screaming over the jingle in an effort to drown it out!

    1. I remember the days when jingles were catchy little tunes with words. The word Liberty repeated ad nauseum isn’t a jingle it’s just stupid.

       1. Stupid, yes. And ear-stabbingly irritating.

          Merry Christmas, Cookie!

    2. I understand your pain, T.J. People really shouldn’t have to live like this in their own homes.

       Do me a favor, would you? Write Liberty Mutual and tell them what you think. Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/libertymutual/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/LibertyMutual. Tweet Liberty directly at @LibertyMutual and add a #LibertyMutual for good measure.

       Happy holidays!

    3. I find liberty mutual commercials stupid and insulting to my intelligence. I also race for the remote to avoid hearing “Liberty liberty liberty”. I would never even inquire about their insurance. Their commercials need to be cut back. I can’t count how many times a day I am subject to being annoyed by them.

       1. Yes, Bob, Liberty Mutual is really ramping up the frequency of its commercials for the start of the New Year. I’d expected a new round of (hopefully better) commercials by now, but no such luck. Keep that remote handy, and thanks for reading!

    4. Exactly what I do! The ads are annoying and lame. Please make them stop!

       And Accident Forgiveness is an add on option that all auto insurers offer. LM projects it as a no cost feature. Bullcrap

       1. So glad you picked up on that. First, Liberty touts accident forgiveness as if it’s unique to them and built into their policies. Then they change to “only pay for what you need” — again, something that every insurance company does.

          Astonishing to me that Liberty Mutual is willing to spend all this money on advertisements that have no real message.

          Thanks for reading!

    5. My thoughts exactly, I hit the mute if it’s close by.

56. Maybe I’m senile, but I LOVE Limu and his sweetie. Emus are the funniest looking birds in the world. The humans are fun also. What good imaginations at the ad agency. Keep us laughing and perhaps we will forget how much insurance companies soak us.

    1. God bless you for having a sense of humor, Kay. But I think you might change your mind about emus being the funniest-looking birds. Do a Google image search the potoo bird and get back to me. 😛

       1. Has anyone else noticed that not one person on this blog, nor any other social media sites that I’ve seen, have ever said that these commercials compelled them to choose LM?
          I see people defending the ad, but not endorsing it.
          I’d like to see how this ad has helped anyone.
          That JINGLE! 🤬

          I may be wrong on this and I’m sure I’ll be corrected 😂

          1. Great point, Buster. I’ve not read one comment here from anyone who said Liberty Mutual’s advertising gave them a reason to buy.

             Clearly, selling the product is not the strategy of these ads. Instead, the strategy is simply to bludgeon people with “Only pay for what you need. Only pay for what you need. Liberty, Liberty, Liberty, Liberty!” It’s artless, bloodless, and cynical work, and no one involved in the creation of these ads is qualified to work any job more cerebral than dog catcher.

             Merry Christmas!

57. I’m pretty sure the comments on here about liking the commercials are just to get a rise out of people. Nobody could be that moronic to like anything about LM commercials. I’m sure the actors in these commercials were pretty embarrassed about having to play these parts. Like “how can my car depreciate before it’s first oil change?”. Or ” I named it Brad”. When an ad campaign makes you certain to NEVER buy from this company, you’re doing something wrong.

    1. “Nobody could be that moronic to like anything about LM commercials”

       Another bully on the playground who couldn’t find a way to express himself without insulting those who don’t share his views.

       1. Easy, Fan of Doug. I mean, Liberty Mutual commercials are terribad — I don’t understand what some people like about them, either. But I think Cave Bear was just expressing his exasperation with these ads using some dramatic flair.

    2. Hi, Cave Bear. I too have wondered if some of the more flowery praise for Liberty Mutual commercials has come from people looking to have a laugh, or maybe from Liberty Mutual employees. (A couple of people claiming to be Liberty Mutual employees have actually written in to say that they don’t like these ads, either.)

       But I think in the end, it’s simply true that different people like an amazing variety of different things. No matter how weird, dumb, dangerous, or insane — there’s always at least one.

       Thanks for writing.

    3. I love the LiMu Emu commercials. To each his own, I guess. Maybe you just weren’t a fan of Starsky and Hutch. Or, maybe you have no sense of humor. Now, just picture that jingle in your head. Think of it as you prepare to sleep, every night. Pretend it’s a skipping record, repeating over and over, “Liberty, Liberty, Liberty…” Like counting sheep, baby. There’s your Karma.

       1. I dunno, LiMuFan. Humor is subjective and even the best jokes wear thin by the ten-thousandth time you see them. Which in this case, adds up to 40,000 “Liii-berty”s sung at the end of their terrible commercials.

          Makes waterboarding look like a day at the beach.

58. More ridiculous ads cannot match these. Changing channel when on screen, especially at FOX, please get rid of the crap!

    1. Hey, Liberty Mutual . . . I think you’ve made another adoring fan!

59. I like limu emu, though the noises he or she makes when the pine cone hits the car are not realistic. Someone said emus are reportedly ill-tempered. They are not. They are very docile and even friendly. He’s confusing them with cassowaries, which have killed people. I know about emus because I helped take care of them in a zoo. Affectionate and amusing birds.

    1. Hi, David! It appears you are correct about emus. According to ScienceDirect, “In disposition, the emu is less placid than the rhea but not as aggressive or bad-tempered as the cassowary.” Thanks for setting the record straight!

60. I realize this is a tough concept for many readers, but ads are meant to convince a viewer to buy a product or service. Obviously this adolescent attempt fails miserably. BTW, why does the woman yell “I love you”???????????????????????????????

    Just an embarrassment and a huge waste of $.

    1. I just wonder why in the new ad Mrs. Emu is wearing an ugly blonde wig. Can these ads get any lamer??

       1. But Cookie! It’s meant to be funny, just like everything else in these dumb ads. Don’t you get it? And isn’t Mrs. LiMu Emu cute??

          Seriously, I wrote better ads than this in high school.

    2. Hey, 1994. Sorry for the late reply, but I’ve been away on vacation, and mercifully unplugged.

       You nailed it. The purpose of advertising is to sell, not simply to “get people talking.” Liberty can spend all the money it wants to carpet-bomb the airwaves with ads; and all its competitors need to do to get ahead is include one compelling reason to buy.

       Liberty’s ads don’t do that, and it’s embarrassing, as you say.

       Thanks for writing!

61. Rob, Glad to have found your site! Great insights and comments from your readers. I’m on a rant about the Liberty Mutual ads, and have written them. I came across a poultry sanctuary that has written LM about their ads, and the president of the organization has encouraged their readers to do the same. LM’s justification for showing an emu bashing it’s beak against a store front window is that the image is CGI. And of course, they miss the point entirely–we often fail to differentiate between synthesized animal cruelty and the real thing–particularly when the animation looks like the real thing. And children are even more susceptible to the confusion. Despicable. Not funny in the least, nor even a tiny bit clever. Wonder how long it will take LM to trash this campaign…they’ve already started truncating the ads so you don’t see much of the emu. They could have saved themselves some headache had they field tested this campaign a bit.

    1. Hi, Holly. Yes, lots of people are upset by the ads showing LiMu Emu bashing its beak into the glass. I’m bothered by it, too. This was the very first of the LiMu Emu ads I saw, and I remember being taken aback. This is supposed to be funny?

       CGI or not, it looks real, and anyone who’s ever been saddened by the sight and sound of a bird flying head-first into a reflective window can’t help but cringe.

       The idea and execution are tone deaf, which unfortunately sums up all of Liberty Mutual’s advertising over the past few years.

       Thanks for writing.

       1. I found your blog after googling “limu emu lamo”. I despise LM’s commercials. the only one I laughed at was the Zoltar “Thanks, lady” ad. The emu is just a lame attempt to create a memorable new mascot. Also they seem to think repetition is the key to success. Hence Liberty, Liberty, Lib, Lib Lib Liberty! What’s even worse are the ads, mostly drug commercials that try to stick an earworm in your head so you’ll remember their names. Such as “Tomorrow. Tomorrow” from the musical Annie or “Trelegy, as easy as 1, 2, 3”. The mute button is my best friend. Actually, the struggling actor ad was pretty funny. He’s such a doofus he can’t do anything right and finally they dub in his lines.

          1. Hi, James. I’m back from a longish vacation and I’ve been eager to thank you for writing.

             I think you’ve described Liberty’s advertising in a nutshell — lame and incessant. And now, derivative too with the mascot. What really gets me is how low Liberty and its agency have set the bar for these ads. They’re utterly unconcerned with the art and science of selling. They don’t even try to communicate a compelling reason to choose Liberty over its competitors.

             Instead, they’re going for laughs, and using an obnoxious, unimaginative, brain-dead jingle to pound the company’s name into our heads over and over and over each day.

             This isn’t cute. This isn’t craft. This is incompetent claptrap that insults the consumer and the brand.

             Thanks for writing.

62. “Yeah, emu rhymes with “LiMu”
    …actually, no, it doesn’t. And that’s what bugs me the most about these commercials. The bird’s name is pronounced e-MEW, not e-MOO. It’s a feckin’ E-MEW!!! What ad company would promote an ad campaign without first ensuring they have basic pronunciation correct?!? And what company would pay for such crap? Liberty Liberty Liberty MOO-tual!! That’s who. Jesus H. Christ.

    1. Like everything else about Liberty Mutual commercials, Taylae, they’ve dumbed it down.

       But given how many people I see searching the Internet for “LiMu Emu’s wife” — well, who’s to say they’re wrong.

       Thanks for posting.

    2. Jeez folks, get a life. Commercials are exactly what they’ve always been; annoying and inevitable. Getting so worked up about them, in my opinion, is a little childish and a waste of ones time. Btw, I still smile every time I see Zotar ride off on his motorcycle.

       1. “Get a life,” A.W.? That’s your opening gambit? You must be great fun at parties.

          Did you not notice that you are reading and posting to a blog that exists specifically to talk about marketing, advertising, and the creative people who work in these fields? No?

          Well, you are.

          We’re passionate about those topics. They matter here. If you don’t feel the same (and you must, because you took the time to post about Zoltar), then look, there’s the door. But don’t post a drive-by insult on your way to sharing your opinion.

          FYI, the Liberty Mutual Zoltar commercials suck and the Progressive “Motar” ads are even worse. I don’t know which you meant, but both are objectively bad.

          1. Sorry my mistake. I apparently missed anything much worthwhile in the comments I read. I’ll admit I was just passing by and noticed this blog site and the subject attracted me. But to me the comments mainly seemed of little value other than to vent one’s dissatisfaction. No one appeared to offer anything meaningful other than to gripe except for the Anonymous poster’s comment. If there was something really creative I apparently missed it. That was the reason for my purposely trite comment. It was not my intent to insult but if anyone, including Rob, was miffed I’m sorry for that.

             1. Appreciate the apology, A.W. No worries.

                And hello. I’m Rob, the “head crank” here. Yes, you’ll see a lot of venting here at The Cranky Creative, both from me and from readers in the comments. That’s part of the reason this blog exists. All too often, creative professionals (and regular TV viewers) have very few options for dealing with their frustrations — over difficult work situations and terrible advertisements — other than venting.

                I do my best to offer solutions: tips, strategies, critiques, and links to resources and websites where consumers can file complaints or simply make their voices heard. It’s important because today’s advertising has become more pervasive, annoying, and intrusive than ever. Especially with the emergence of more and more sophisticated digital tactics designed to follow consumers and collect personal information for the purpose of selling to us at every turn.

                Thanks again for replying, and feel free to stop back anytime you need to crank about some particularly crappy advertising. 🙂

63. Doug and LiMu Emu are brilliantly funny. Doug’s obsessive drive and work ethic to get the Liberty Mutual message out is over the top. It is almost admirable. His ability to telepathically communicate with an emu and recognize him as a team partner is hysterical. Doug is so passionate that he fails to see the absurdity of all of this. If people cannot see the humor in this then they simply do not have a good sense of humor.

    1. Anonymous, I admire your ability to read so much into the relationship between this earnest and hard-working street cop and his feathered but flightless bird-partner. I myself hadn’t thought about it so deeply.

       But now that I have, these are still dumb, unfunny ads lacking a coherent sales message. That they were created by the same agency that did the “Got Milk?” campaign so many years ago just boggles the mind.

       Thanks for posting.

    2. Hey Anonymous, I think you’d like old Richard Nixon speeches. Check it out.

    3. Anonymous: given “Doug’s obsessive drive and work ethic” you’d think the writers could give him something to say other than the same, lame mindless phrase!

    4. Hi Anonymous. So, how long have you been at Goodby Silverstein and Partners?

       1. Oh, Scott, I like the cut of your jib.

          Thanks for the laugh — I needed it!

64. New to this blog and glad to have found it. Like many others here, I was brought to this site by my sheer disgust for the lack of quality and pure jackassery of commercial advertising – especially in this relatively new age of lowest common denominator, screaming the loudest gets the brass ring. Only it doesn’t. I will never consider Liberty Mutual for insurance.

    LiMu Emu and Doug is merely the latest in a string of creatively bankrupt ads from sheepole who still think the swanky 70’s (Starsky and Hutch anyone?) is somehow an innovative trope that will appeal to Boomers and GenXers. What a sad state of affairs. I agree with many others – we’re just at a point where there’s a lot of millennials now entering the boardrooms, making pitches and making decisions. Social media has changed everything. It’s only going to get worse. Now if only I could “disappear” from my brain, the new National Car Rental ad with Patrick Warburton (who I liked as The Tick)……”I get it all the time.” Ugh.

    1. Welcome to the Cranky club, Criswell! I agree with everything you said.

       It’s too bad about the new National Car Rental ads. The first few featuring Patrick Warburton were fairly amusing, I thought. But the newer ones, like “Out of Your Control,” are undeniably dopey.

       I’m starting to wonder if the current generation of advertising creatives are simply trying too hard, rather than not trying hard enough.

       Thanks for posting!

       1. Yes, Verizon uses the phrase word for word AFTER they explain how you can customize your family data plan. In my opinion they are just making Liberty look stupid. I don’t use Verizon but I love their ad!

          1. Thanks, Cookie. I’ll keep my eyes open for that ad. It sounds like Verizon does it the right way — by including concrete facts, not simply emus, abstract concepts, and empty claims.

65. One of the most annoying commercials ever!!!!

    1. Yes, Anonymous. And that LIBERDY, LIBERDY, LIBERDY … LIIIBERDY! jingle just makes it so much worse.

       1. The new Verizon Wireless ad says “you only pay for what you need”. Verizon, though shows you how to set up your data plan so your whole family really is getting what they need/want. Liberty just repeats it meaninglessly. Why do they bother?

          1. Hi, Cookie! Wow, does Verizon really use the line, “you only pay for what you need”? Like, word for word? If so, that’s pretty lazy. Usually, advertisers try to avoid using the same language as other brands, whether they’re in the same industry or not.

             As for Liberty, their use of the phrase is empty and meaningless. Every car insurance company can customize its policies so customers only pay for what they need.

             Thanks for posting. It’s nice to see you again!

          2. OMG I searched for how bad these commercials suck because I knew I’d find a blog like this. Who’s the dumbass with the power that has subjected us to these horrible commercials? I’ve never commented on something like this but I can’t help it. When I hear the commercial come on it’s like nails on a chalkboard! Forget waterboarding, just play these commercials on a loop and youll get any information you want

             1. Glad you found us, Jason! I get you, man. And thanks — I had a good chuckle over your waterboarding joke. 😛

                Stop back anytime!

             2. I really wish there were like buttons on this blog. LOL.
                I would make different accounts just to like this one a hundred times!
                I abhor these commercials!
                I love the waterboarding comment. I was thinking nails on the chalkboard, but that one is spot on.
                At least if I were actually being tortured by these commercials, in order to get me to divulge information, I could end the torture by telling all they wanted to know. I wouldn’t leave anything out. LOL.
                Even if I thought their ads were funny, I’d still mute them. That JINGLE!!!
                And for all those who say the ads are cute and you like them….it’s not supposed to be a short story…it’s supposed to be an ad. Meant to sell you what they have to offer, to DRAW you to them, Not repel.
                Since they have nothing significant to offer, it makes their ad insignificant, repelling and obnoxious.
                No. I have Never searched the web to find an outlet for my immense hatred for a commercial before now.
                And YES…the ad helps me to remember which company I will NEVER use!

                1. Congratulations, Buster. Not only is your comment exactly on point, but it made me laugh out loud.

                   (“I wouldn’t leave anything out.” LOL!)

                   I like the cut of your jib, man. Thanks for writing!

66. Hey Rob, I only heard on Sirius XM, but have not yet seen the latest ad in which Doug and Emu are transferred to another part of the region, not because they need insurance there, but because Limu Emu is eating someone’s chips and keyboard. Can you find the video for this one and share here?

    1. Hey, Mark. I can’t find audio or video of this one yet, but I’ll post it if I do.

    2. I’m an sick and tired of the stupidity of liberty mutual commercials. Worse is hearing LIBERTY, LIBERTY, LIBERTY, fifty times a day.

       1. Agreed and noted. Would anyone at Liberty Mutual care to respond?

67. And here’s the Liberty Mutual rationale for this campaign:

    https://youtu.be/54CLE_2BWTM

    1. Thanks for the link, Mark. I can’t believe Fox Business actually did a segment on LiMu Emu, but it was interesting to see Liberty’s new chief marketing officer, Emily Fink, try to explain the ads.

       At 2:10, Ms. Fink says that Liberty marketing gauges ad effectiveness based on two things: 1) Do people remember the ad? 2) Do people remember the ad is from Liberty Mutual? Once again, there is no mention of key business metrics such as increased calls for quote requests or, Heaven forbid, sales.

       But at least it explains that brain-dead, bottom-of-the-barrel Liberty Mutual “jingle.”

       Oh, Ms. Fink: I see plenty of people searching the Internet for “limo emu” and “Geico ostrich,” but I hope those newfangled ad recall metrics are working out for you.

       Mark, thanks for posting.

       1. I was surprised to see this was done 6 months ago, but as I’m not a fan of Fox I would not have seen the segment. It is especially interesting to hear that the “you only pay for what you need” is actually based on the company’s research. I had not fully appreciated the fact that there is no actual product to show, so they have to use other visual tricks. Perhaps that’s a challenge Farmer’s “we’ve seen it all” series tries to portray with models of the crazy incidents they have covered.

          1. Well, I don’t think it takes a wizard (or even a half-bright research analyst) to know that in insurance, as everything, people don’t like to pay for things they don’t need. But I think the approach here is cynical. EVERY car insurance company can customize its coverage, so “only pay what you need” is an empty and meaningless claim. The only people taken in by this slogan are complete noobs who haven’t the first clue about insurance, and for these people, Liberty hasn’t even tried to help them understand.

             Kudos to Esurance for at least acknowledging that insurance is a pain. I appreciate their approach (and Farmers, as you mentioned) a lot more than Liberty Mutual’s “me-too” strategy of copying the GEICO gecko.

             1. Dennis Quaid for esurance is hilarious.
                https://www.esurance.com/commercials
                I especially like the ad where the stunt driver spills his hot coffee then is driving backwards. But to pretend that any of these insurance ads is teaching us very much besides the company name is far-fetched. the disclaimer at the end of drug ads that warn you may die, that’s the only thing these ads fail to mention. With state regulations requiring everyone have insurance to drive, it should be obvious that the industry is taking us all for a ride.

                https://www.esurance.com/commercials

       2. I just canceled my Liberty Mutual insurance today and signed up with Allstate. I am saving about $1300 a year. And that was including my employee discount. I was paying way to much for what I need.

          1. That sure beats Geico’s measly $400. Did you happen to try Progressive’s Name Your Price Tool? Sounds like now you’ll be in good hands!

          2. Hi, Marilene. Wow, that’s a big savings. And “I was paying way too much for what I need” is a sick burn. Nicely done! Thanks for posting.

68. This is why I admire Doug:

    https://youtu.be/1J9Jzets68I

69. I watch way too much commercial TV so I get to see a lot of ads. It seems to me that they are trying to copy everyone else’s ads to see if one works for them. The emu is Liberty Mutual’s attempt to copy the gecko. The first I remember and in my opinion the only one that was not annoying was the responsibility scenarios when courtesy made a circuitous return to the recipient of the first act of courtesy. I found them amusing but not very well at demonstrating responsibility.
    The next series was the wreck scenarios. What I remember is the pain I still live with when the moster GM suv rear ends a car on a hill. Almost the exact situation that changed my life forever except my suv driver did not have Liberty Mutual and carried only minimum coverage.
    The next I remember was the statue of liberty background with various small skits played against the same background. Likely a reaction to the cost of the responsibility ads which had to be very expensive to produce. This had to be a whole lot less costly to produce and could be tailored to the run time. Mostly pointless but only some were really annoying. I think there were really two series portraying the statue of liberty. The first set had more different scenes and better messaging.
    Now they have the Limu emu which is so totally inane and annoying (that may be a little redundant). There is also somewhat of a continuation of the statue background. Why not it’s paid for? I still have no idea what Liberty Mutual is trying to communicate to potential customers other than they have an advertising budget comparable to the other 4 or 5 big spending insurance companies.

    1. Dilemma, I’m impressed! You certainly know your Liberty Mutual ad history.

       And I’m sorry to hear of your terrible accident. Here’s hoping for a full recovery.

       Take care, and thanks for reading.

       1. Thanks Rob. I like what you are doing. The ad agencies should be paying you for hosting this blog.
          If I post again I hope to be more concise and have better composition. Commercial TV is clearly being challenged but as long as people are willing to put up with commercials to see the content they will have opinions to express.

          1. Thanks for the kind words, Dilemma. And no worries — your posts are great!

70. limu emu sucks. stupid. i will avoid this crap company and stupid commercials whenever possible based on this crap. i spit on liberty mutual and i spit on your marketing department and i spit on your advertising agency.

    1. Whoa, Mick! Easy, my man. I’m supposed to be the cranky one here. But I get you. A lot of advertisements make me mad, too.

       Take good care of your mute button and it will take good care of you!

71. Mother Liberty is usually broken down somewhere along the cultural highway. So it comes as no surprise she has finally hit the Mad Men Era head on with an imaginative Emu campaign. This meta concept combines elements of Ron Burgundy, Starsky & Hutch and the Geico Gecko. After initially scoffing, I have to admit the LiMu Emu is growing on me. The only bummer is the fact that the Emu is only part real/part CG.

    1. Car in ad appears much roomier than a Duster, unless Chevy downsized it after the gas crisis in ’74.

       1. The Plymouth Duster was a Chrysler product. It adds a certain 70’s hurry-up quality to LiMu and Doug.

          1. Right on, Mark. Chrysler made the Plymouth Duster. More here: allpar.com/cars/plymouth/duster.html

    2. Ron Burgundy, eh? I wish I could see it.

       Stay classy, Jim.

    3. Love the limo emu key to the city commercial! Especially the emu wife! To funny.

72. I absolutely love the Emu and Doug as. Especially where they are given the keys to the city!!!!! I just laugh every time I see it,!!!!! Thanks, Liberty!!!!

    1. If I were a comedian, Susan, I’d want you at my every show. You’re too easy!

    2. I agree. Funny. I love these commercials!

    3. We hear BBQ EMU tastes just like chicken!

73. I agree with most of what you say (except I like the mayhem guy). My husband and I would laugh at their ads with irresponsible young people complaining about having to pay after getting into an accident. The emu ads are a slight improvement. But their latest as with the “struggling actor” is absolutely hilarious. They need more of those!

    1. Hi, Suzanne. Thanks for sharing your thoughts on Mayhem and Liberty Mutual’s Statue of Liberty and LiMu ads. I find it interesting that you like the “struggling actor” ad. I’ve only just started seeing that one and yours is the first reaction to it that I’ve heard.

       Keep on laughing! As a captive audience for so many ads today, it helps to have a sense of humor.

74. I couldn’t agree more, these ads are offensively moronic! I hate them so much that I would NEVER consider this insurance company if I would be looking to change my insurance. These commercials do nothing to help this company, and yes, THEY ARE INCESSANT, FURTHER ANNOYING US AND ACTUALLY MAKING US ANGRY, having to change the channel continuously so we don’t have to see these ads any more.

    1. You’re right, Holly. Even those who like LiMu Emu and Doug have to admit that you can have too much of a good thing.

75. I hate the Liberty commercials of the whiny people in front of the Statue of Liberty thinking it’s okay to get into an accident. Just those commercials alone make me NOT want to buy Liberty insurance. But I find the Doug and Limu Emu commercials funny and endearing.

    1. Well you’re in luck, Carole, as it seems Liberty Mutual has more plans for your favorite emu.

76. Love love love the mayhem guy. Limu emu is even better. These are well crafted commercials that I actually enjoy.
    Sorry, I think you are the one with a pineapple sideways up your arse and it’s making you cranky and whiny.

    1. You may enjoy the commercials, Diane — and if so, good for you. But Liberty Mutual’s LiMu Emu commercials are objectively crap for one simple reason.

       I’ll give you a hint: It’s not the emu. It’s not the bad writing. It’s not even the bird-brained jingle at the end.

       It’s the utter lack of any reason at all for people to choose Liberty Mutual car insurance over its competitors.

       For example, Allstate’s message is that you’re in “good hands” because the company is large and stable. Geico says it can save you money compared to your current insurance company. Progressive emphasizes competitive quotes and the ease of buying online. Esurance makes buying insurance “surprisingly painless.” And Farmers commercials drive home the idea that they’ll cover you no matter how weird your claim.

       But “customize your car insurance?” Every car insurance company in the world can do that. So what reason does anyone have to buy from Liberty Mutual? Does Liberty Mutual even know? I wonder.

77. I like the emu and I like Doug, too…also the concept. The LiMu Emu ad is one of the very few I sometimes un-mute. But I’m an old guy and remember the buddy cop shows. Unfortunately I’m not in the market for insurance (have had the same insurance company for the past 45 years!!!)

    1. Hey, Fred. I liked the old buddy-cop shows too. Bet I could watch them again on one of the many streaming services out there… Hm.

       Thanks for reading!

78. Since they had a 3rd grader write their theme “song” that leaves them the budget for a CGI bird. Im a studio engineer and have long wanted to make a box that mutes the sound when it recognizes a commercial, Liberty mutual and Consumer cellular with texty mctexterson have been the push to do it. I think there should be a huge effort to boycott any companies that do the now popular 2+minute commercials. Sero Vital. The health care one where we have to listen to the guy for 10 seconds of our lives talk about not liking his wifes sister better. or hottest thing on social media. the car maintenance with the couples standing saying you car will break while the wife with no lines stands nearby. Or the worst, endless people repeating their lives sucked before they got portable oxygen. Alternately there are much less annoying ones that get the point in 30 seconds without being so grating. I find the Stitch fix one to be much less offensive.

    1. Well, what do you know? Looks like I’ve found someone who hates today’s advertising almost as much as I do! I like your idea for a device that automatically mutes TV commercials. We watch TV through an Xbox with voice recognition, so we’re constantly yelling, “Xbox MUTE!” It’s still a pain.

79. In case you missed it, Doug received a key to the city in the latest ad, which included a shot of Mrs. Doug and Mrs. Limu. So city officials are apparently ignoring all the criticism in these comments.
    https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=5ugLWL3G9iQ

    1. Hey, Mark. Thanks for the heads-up on the new ad. I hadn’t seen it. But yeah, it’s as dumb as the others.

       September 4 edit: The “keys to the city” ad is called “Commendation.” I’ve embedded the video above.

       1. Rob – I’m not a hater, but actually admire Doug’s commitment to his job and company. And I also enjoy seeing how inordinately annoyed people get with these farcical ads, when there are so many flatulence, diarrhea, ED, heartburn and other truly disgusting ads out there. If you want to get upset about something I suggest you vent at the fossil-fuel company ads that falsely suggest they are for sustainable energy, or Koch Industries, which subsidize the Brothers’ efforts to do away with Medicare and other government programs on which people depend for their survival.

          1. Wish there was a like button for this reply.

       2. Where is the petition to sign to get rid of this garbage ad?

          1. Hi, George! Want to let Liberty Mutual know what you think? Leave a comment on the company’s Facebook page (https://www.facebook.com/libertymutual/) and/or Twitter page (https://twitter.com/LibertyMutual). Tweet them directly at @LibertyMutual and add a #LibertyMutual for good measure.

80. Strange, I am Australian and live in Australia! I actually enjoy the adds as they are funny. For those that think the bird lives in the outback. Your seriously wrong. They are walking around the suburbs of Perth WA. We are certainly not in the outback. Just like we have kangaroos eating grass on front lawns it just we don’t go around shooting anything that moves.

    1. Thanks for the avian insights, Darryl! I had no idea emus ran free in the suburbs, much less that Liberty Mutual ran business in Australia. Good to know, and thanks for reading!

    2. Good Grief. What kind of money is Liberty paying their advertising firm? Their spending big bucks for the stupid Emu and Statue of Liberty commercials. I think they’re getting ripped off. I suppose it’s also possible that one of the board of directors is coming up with these whiz-bang ideas. Maybe the board should vote on this. What population on this planet would be endeared by seeing an Emu with glasses on, walking around town? I’d say the Gecko dude is winning that PR fight hands down. I’m only chorusing in because I just signed up today for auto insurance. I really didn’t associate any of their commercials with Liberty. It finally dawned on me that my least favorite commercial was actually for Liberty (Liberty, Liberty)!
       Here’s a concept.. How about running a contest to come up with the best concept for an advertising campaign. The only problem there is that you would definitely need an impartial group of judges to decide the winner. I’ve been able to write a small windows app that detects that eerie “LEMO EMU” and mutes the audio until the commercial is over. I need to write an app now to mute the one with the low mumbling of a guy jumping into the river! I’m hard of hearing and that low disguised voice isn’t even intelligible to me! All I hear clearly is the No,No,NO,No… And I think a splash. Haven’t seen the one at the Statue with the women demeaning her husband lately. Thank God!! Another big winner there.. Possibly could be a bit more memorable if the husband jumped off the pier!
       My expert advice to Liberty (Expert at watching TV):
       1. Lose the Emu. (hmm, that rhymes too!)
       2. How about something like a “Columbo” character. You know. Appears sloppy and not so bright but ends up getting all the answers. Ok Liberty. I want $.05 for every thumbs up on this concept.
       3. Leave the F***ing advertising to professionals. Stop getting the CEO’s daughter, or Johhny down the street chipping in with these Absurd, Demoralizing, sick, cheap, stupid, condescending, piffy, Ludacris attempts at humor. Oh, I forgot Bad, tasteless and non-sensical.
       I surely do hope that the advertising department doesn’t have any say in their insurance division. I really don’t want to be getting insurance ID cards with an Emu imprinted on it. Then if I ever get pulled over by the police and asked to provide my proof of insurance, they’ll think I’m crazy also!
       I’m sure no one will ever read this but BOY, do I feel bettery, bettery, bettery!.

       1. Hi, Chris! Good ideas there. Especially the app you wrote to recognize LiMu Emu commercials and mute them! That is genius. You know, I think you could sell that. 😛

          Thanks for the rant (this blog is surely the place for it) and I’m glad it made you feel better!

       2. Everyone (and I mean everyone) hates those Statue of Liberty commercials. I on the other hand, like the Emu a lot. Way more than the Gecko, and Geico ranks high on my list of favorite commercials. I don’t hate the gecko, I’m just indifferent. On the other hand, the free range chicken, the pothole, the caveman, hump day camel, the lady with the squirrels in the attic – love it. The only gecko one I like is the one with the lady that says “PIE!” And for her, not the gecko.

          Was hoping they had replaced those statue ones with the emu, until the one with the fortune teller came out. It’s unfortunate but the statue ones are probably way cheaper to produce than to pay for the special effects required to do the Limu. But IMO it’s comedy gold.

          There are so many terrible ads out there. I actually think the Limu is a clever concept.

          1. In my feeble attempt to be open minded, maybe I’m missing something. The Limu Emu in itself. It’s an okay character. Other than that.. What does he\she represent? It\he\she doesn’t say anything. Doesn’t appear to be very high on the food chain, doesn’t fly. Hmm, nope, not coming to me!

             1. Hi, Chris. Have you seen the new “Key to the City” commercial? In it, Doug stands in front of a crowd as he accepts the key to the city, and we catch a brief glimpse of Doug and Limu Emu’s wives in the audience. Maybe Liberty Mutual has plans to show us more and more of the emu’s life — what he does when he gets home from work, if he and the wife have baby emus, his interactions with the in-laws. The possibilities are endless!

                1. Hey Rob. Maybe we should just wait for the Doug and Limo series on Netflix/:-)

                   1. Chris, I am sure the creative geniuses at Goodby, Silverstein & Partners would just love that. Let’s hope it never happens.

81. Bugs me that an animal is used in this way. It’s natural habitat is the Australian outback. It’s abuse. Save the poor Emu from this classless ad! Get it off the street! Animal liberationist rally forth!

    1. Outback or not, an Emu bashing it’s beak against a window is NOT FUNNY! It’s horrible!

    2. Thankfully, the emu in the commercial is a mix of computer graphics and (probably) puppetry. Liberty Mutual says no animals were harmed in the making of the LiMu commercials, but I agree — it’s still hard to watch.

       1. Kind of like Amy’s smoking monkey on Big Bang. (CGI also)

82. I’ve had all my insurance with Liberty Mutual for the last 15-20 years… Home, Cars, Life, etc. I’ve been thinking of switching for several reasons… These annoying ads are the final straw. I’m Out!!

    1. Hey, Liberty Mutual. If anyone from there is reading Tim’s comment, please let your supervisor know. I think the idea of advertising is to attract customers, not repel them.

       Thanks for your comment, Tim.

       1. I have pretty refined tastes regarding TV and movies. I shun basically anything done since the 90’s, but I did love the show ‘Monk’ FWIW. I think these ads are the best thing on TV right now. They are funny in a dorky kind of way yet also clever. I cannot stand the vast majority of commercials and watch zero reality TV, sports, superhero and/or science fiction crap. Most of my viewing is done via youtube and it mostly consists of historical documentaries.

          Obviously the spots are popular as they would not continue them. Sure, they are not ‘cutting edge’ or empowering to this group or that group. They serve no purpose other than to sell a product. Imagine that?

83. Another annoying LM commercial. I keep my remote nearby.

    1. Sometimes, the mute button is our only defense. Thanks for reading, Shirley!

84. I’m a huge fan of these Limu ads. The Emu is an incidental prop. But Doug is the real star! You have to love the way he talks to the bird with complete sincerity. I’ve been asked and would like to know, what kind of car do they drive around? Anyhow, I think you’re rant about these ads is exaggerated in its vehemence. I personally have been with USAA for all my insurance since 1979, so I have no financial or other interest in Liberty Mutual.

    1. There are many companies that use real or cg animals as characters in their ads. The Chantix turkey, for instance or the Geico gecko. All are treated with respect. Only LM has its animal character bashing it’s head against a window. Not cool. Liberty. I’ve had their insurance in the past, but no more.

       1. Yes, Cookie, last night I saw the 15-second version of the emu-bashes-its-beak-into-the-window spot and again thought it a little off-putting.

          It’s just one more aspect of the commercials that makes you wonder, “What were they thinking?”

    2. Hey, Mark. The car in the ads appears to be a 1972 Plymouth Duster.

       I’d take that for a spin!

    3. I have been in the marketing communications/branding biz and made a lot of clients very happy with the sales increases. And I must say, the Liberty Mutual campaign withe the emu is one of the dumbest campaigns I have ever seen and I have seen a lot of them in my 45 years in the biz. And more befuddling is the source of this abysmal campaign: Goodby, Silverstein & Partners. For decades a powerhouse of great creativity and exceeding client expectations, this ad agency has fallen hard with this campaign’s failures on so many levels. What the hell happened to GS&P? And that Liberty jingle is so 1950s, so similar to so many local car dealers and plumbing supply jingles using a “your-name-here” stock jingle.

       The era of DoyleDaneBernbach is definitely over. The age of ineffective, in-your-face, insulting ad concepts is here. Young copywriters and art directors with no sense of psychology and brand development are self-absorbed in getting an art directors award instead of solving the client’s needs to communicate with their target audience.

       The Liberty Mutual campaign says as much about the incompetence of the client’s marketing leadership as it does with a lack of talent at GS&P.

       1. Bravo, David! I agree with everything you said and couldn’t have said it better myself. Thank you for sharing your thoughts.

       2. We constantly keep seeing these annoying godawful Liberty Mutual TV commercials here in California and Liberty Mutual doesn’t even insure California drivers! That goes to show you just how fucking stupid this insurance company really is.

    4. I like the ads much better than the Zoltar one

       1. I’ll agree with you, Melissa. The Zoltar ad is truly terrible.

    5. I love the LimuEmu and Doug commrrcials! They are great!!!

       1. I agree with you! I’m surprised that so many people don’t like the LimuEmu ads. I think they’re adorable!

          1. O like them too. So funny. There are so many stupid add out. The bird is funny and David plays a great part.

85. Since I know I’m not alone must add my comments! I LOVE LiMu Emu and Doug and hope more of the duo’s commercial are made!

    1. Duly noted, Vicki. If I may ask, what is it you like about LiMu Emu and Doug?

       Thanks for reading.

       1. Seems to me the car insurance companies are in an unofficial competition to see who can field the inane commercials. LE&D are true winners. My favorite has our heros running through traffic to deliver their message. But the best car insurance commercial of all time comes from Farmer’s Insurance. The Farmer’s Insurance “Clown Car Collision” is hilarious!

    2. So sad to be you. Bet you spend a lot of time on the shopping network

86. I thought the GEICO ads were the dumbest until Liberty Mutual brought in the emu. Unto then, I was considering getting a quote from them

    1. You hear that, Liberty? Apparently, your ads are making it hard for some potential customers to take you seriously.

       Thanks for reading, Hana.

       1. First, how closely do you believe Liberty Mutual is following this discussion? Second, if they do a head count, it looks like people are about evenly divided for and against the LiMu ads. Third, aren’t we all tired by now of Flo on Progressive (had to put that out there)? Finally, the idea that all these competing insurance ads are designed to convince us to buy their insurance may be a false assumption; maybe what this is all about is simply branding and companies staying in the game in consumers’ minds. In any case, I’d like to see more variety of the emu and Doug, and maybe a little less repetition.

          1. I’m sure Liberty Mutual has someone monitoring blogs and social media for discussions about their ads. No doubt they’ve seen this blog as I’ve tweeted my reviews to them as well.

             Do they care? Doesn’t seem to be the case. But ultimately, the numbers will tell the story. So far as I know, their marketing people have only said that the ads have helped increase “awareness,” whatever that means. No reference to quote requests or sales. So I think the jury is still out.

             Thanks for your comment.

87. Have you seen Doug’s big round butt. They seem to showcase it in every commercial

    1. I hadn’t noticed that, J. What do you think it means?

       Next week: A new post about subliminal advertising!

       Just kidding. Thanks for reading.

    2. I’ve been a fan of Goodby’s creative for the three decades Ive been in the ad business. But this campaign negates 30 years of brilliant creative work. It’s the worst kind of bad; not “they didn’t know any better” bad like local ads, but “they’re trying too hard” bad. It just doesn’t work. It’s feels like it’s desperately wanting time be funny but just isn’t. On the other hand Progressive’s Flo campaign—which is dreadfully dull as a campaign concept—is written so damn well I have come to really like them. The difference is simply good writing versus bad writing.

       1. That’s an excellent point, Scott. The writing in Progressive’s commercials is sharp and witty. Even a crank like me chuckles at the dialogue from time to time. But the Liberty Mutual commercials — the punchlines fall flat like the sound of a sad trombone.

          Thanks for letting us hear from a long-time ad man!

88. By far the stupidest commercial yet. I hate all liberty mutual commercials. Would never consider using there insurance.

    1. Thanks for making my point, Anonymous. Advertising that annoys has the potential to turn people off of a brand for good.

    2. I agree. They are,so stupid. I will never be a customer of liberty mutual.

       1. Hi, Jeanne. You are not alone. Have you seen Liberty’s latest ads? Thanks for reading!

    3. It really annoys me when Doug says “he’ll figure it out” as Limu attacks his reflection. NO HE WON’T! Emu’s are not self aware and Limu will NEVER recognize himself in a mirror! A Google lookup could have told these stupid ad people that, A little research, folks!

       1. I think that’s supposed to be the commercial’s punchline, Cookie. Liberty Mutual is trying to make you laugh in the hope you will remember the company the next time you buy car insurance.

          I suppose the line is mildly amusing, unless you are someone who’s upset that the emu may have hurt himself pecking the mirror.

          Which you shouldn’t be, because the emu is computer generated. Still, it’s not easy for some people to watch, and there’s been plenty of outcry from people who were upset by it.

          Thanks for your comment and for dropping some animal science on us, Cookie!

89. Hands down one of the stupidest ads of all times

    1. Yup. It may amuse you to know that some of the search terms people have used to find this review over the past couple of days include: “limu ad annoying,” “who approves and thinks these stupid commercials are funny,” and “does liberty mutual realize how bad their commercials really are?”

       Thanks for reading, David.

90. I love the emu and this commercial because it features the human-animal bond which I cherish, even though it is presented humorously.

    1. Hi, Ann. Were you at all bothered by the ad in which LiMu Emu attacks the glass? A ton of people were outraged by that, with many calling on the Humane Society to investigate Liberty Mutual for animal abuse. Thankfully, the emu isn’t real — it’s computer-generated. Still, I can see where that scene would bother people who love animals.

       May I ask which of the emu ads is your favorite? More importantly, have the ads done anything to convince you to buy your insurance from Liberty Mutual?

       Thanks for reading.

       1. Hi Rob. If the emu, real or computerized, would have been injured by the glass I would definitely not like it and would join any protest regarding it. I like all the emu ads especially the one where the cop and the emu walk off together almost in step. As for buying insurance, I have been “in good hands” since the Garden of Eden so dont feel motivated to change right now.

          1. Oh, I see. So you’re more of a “Mayhem” gal, eh? Got it. Thanks for responding and for being a good sport! 🙂

             1. LOL! Actually I like Dean Winter and am familiar with his portrayal of Cassidy on Law and Order SVU. No way could I take this seriously!

                1. The question is, Ann: Would you have liked Cassidy from Law and Order more if he had had an emu as a partner?

                   I’m kidding. Thanks for the lively discussion!

                   1. Now you’re talking! What a dynamite combo!

       2. Another constant with ms fink at LM is white guys are dumb. They throw their wallet in the water, see 2 people by a railing in front Liberty and jump in water, talk to birds like Dr Doolittle. I want to change my insurance for sure!

          1. Hi, Barry. Yes, the “bumbling white guy” has been a thing in advertising for years now. Media have reported on it and people have complained (a quick Google search turns up lots of articles), but the stereotype shows no signs of going away.

             At least Doug seems clever, yeah?

    2. I agree with you, Ann!

91. I am a LM employee, been with them for over 15 years. I have always hated their commercials. I like LiMu and Doug. It is completely different than anything they’ve ever done. Getting your message across while making people laugh is what seems to sell nowadays, and LM is finally putting some comedy in their message. Now if they would only get rid of the “customized” calves of the bike rider and the “witness protection” ads.

    1. Hi, Lurch! Thanks for writing — it’s interesting to hear from a Liberty Mutual employee.

       Let me say, I am with you 100% on the “big calves” and “witness protection” ads — my face actually hurts from all the cringing.

       If you know any colleagues who would like to chime in — send them over! I’d love to hear from them.

    2. The price of insurance is already comical enough. All you major ins co. are all the same and in competition for the most and rediculous message about their company. Get real and stay there. You will get more respect.

       1. Preach it, JIS! Thanks for your comment.

       2. I love the song! “LiMu emu……and Doug”! Very catchy. We like the emu. Cheesy stupid commercials but funny. I have no intention on changing insurance nor would I base that decision off a commercial if I was. Not sure if it will sell anything but we like it and look forward to the next commercial.

          1. For all the money Liberty is spending to create these commercials (CGI like that ain’t cheap) and buy airtime, I’m sure they expect them to sell. Maybe we’ll get a clue as to whether they do or not if and when another batch of LiMu ads are made.

             In the meantime, and despite my knocks against the campaign, I still like these ads better than the latest round of dreadful ads set in front of the Statue of Liberty.

             Thanks for your comment.

92. I love the Liberty Mutual commercials, except the EMU commercials. I think they don’t make sense. They are silly.

    1. Which Liberty Mutual commercials do you love, Maddy? Are there specific ads you like from the “Truth Tellers” campaign — the series of ads that takes place (supposedly) on a boardwalk in front of the Statue of Liberty?

       Or maybe you like a radio ad. I hear Liberty’s current radio ads aren’t bad.

       As for the LiMu Emu ads, I don’t mind silly. But every good ad must give potential customers a reason to buy — and “only pay for what you need” is hardly a feature that’s unique to Liberty Mutual.

       1. I do like the emu (see replies above). But as to the “only pay for what you need,” that sounds slippery enough to make me think the policies have enough holes in them to be swiss cheese. So that approach makes me very suspicious as a customer. The thing with insurance is that you never know what you will need. So you don’t want any holes in a “customized” policy. You want a policy that will catch you when something happens.
          But I’ve had Geico for years and don’t plan to change. I do enjoy the emu ads – but the “truth teller” ads are horrendous. Automatic irritant. Should be disappeared from the television. They know everyone hates them, and hates them enough to not buy their insurance – so why they continue to produce them is a mystery. They could still produce cheap commercials with a clever/more likeable concept.
          You know they’re paying out the nose for the emu CGI – which is fine by me, because what’s a better way to redeem your horrible truth teller commercials than by using an emu? Who hates emus? Nobody. Nobody hates emus.

          1. You’re a funny one, D. And I am happy to see that you have a good understanding of insurance. You’re right, there’s no value in an inexpensive policy if it doesn’t help you when you need it most.

             Liberty Mutual’s vapid message, “Only pay for what you need,” does a disservice to virtually everyone. It confuses consumers who may be led to think that Liberty Mutual is the only car insurance company to customize its policies. It hurts the company by failing to communicate any real, tangible reason for consumers to choose Liberty over its competitors. (Perhaps Liberty and its advertising agency both struggled to find anything unique or better about the company’s offerings?) And, as you point out, to some viewers, the line may make Liberty Mutual insurance appear as cut-rate insurance with gaps that could prove costly to policyholders.

             The emu is not the problem. It’s the utter lack of any kind of unique selling proposition that makes these ads so terrible.

             Thanks for reading and sharing your comments!

93. Lordy, what terrible commercials!

    1. You certainly aren’t the only one who thinks so, Tim!

       Thanks for reading.

94. I love the LiMu Emu ! I think it’s adorable, and cute, and I just adore him!

    1. Emily Fink, is that you?

       Just kidding, Blair. Thanks for reading.

    2. Love the little feathered guy
       He’s a doll

       Fab idea which is so funny it sells

    3. How sad for you. Bet you watch Wife Swap, too.

95. I enjoy the commercials. I hope they continue making more.

    1. We’ll see, Doug. I’m curious where they’d go from here.

       1. Further down the toilet

96. I like these commercials because they manage to be fun, irreverent and self-deprecating all at the same time. That’s not easy to do.

    1. That’s true, Bill. It’ll be interesting to see what antics LiMu and Doug get up to in the next round of commercials.

97. better an emu than a girl running around half dressed. we see too much of that anyway.

    1. Hmm. Which commercial are you referring to, Carol? I might have to review that one.

98. I like it. An emu is unusual and naturally gets your attention. And, the commercials are short, short, short. Thanks Liberty. (I hated the ones with the entitled millennials).

    1. I can’t argue with you there, Anonymous. Like them or not, the LiMu ads are generating attention. You should see the number of people who visit this site looking for answers to questions such as “Is LiMu Emu real?” (answer: it’s a combination of real bird and computer graphics), “What kind of car do LiMu and Doug drive?” (answer: it appears to be a 1972 Plymouth Duster), and “Who is the couple in the LiMu Emu commercials? (answer: I have no freakin’ idea).

       Thanks for visiting.

99. The Limu. Emu.is a very affective and funny campaign, especially if you recall the cheesey cop shows of the 70’s, and it’s infinitely better than the previous campaign, which makes me wanna jump in the river myself.

    1. Hi, there! Ah, yes. I remember a few 70s cop shows. ChiPS, Starsky & Hutch, Police Woman, Quincy, Adam-12 and Simon & Simon were some of my favorites. I still don’t get the emu, but I’m glad it doesn’t irritate someone.

    2. I completely agree. The commercials are hilarious. Who cares if an emu does or does not have anything to do with insurance? That’s not the point. Clever commercials should be entertaining and memorable. Those that don’t find humor in these spots are probably taking themselves too seriously; seems like everyone these days feels the need to be indignant over something unimportant.

       1. If the goal was to get people talking, Not an Emu, then LiMu creator Goodby, Silverstein & Partners has done its job. Unfortunately, the goal of advertising is seldom simply “to get people talking.” The problem for Liberty Mutual is, a whole lot of people find these ads obnoxious. Part of the problem is the premise — which, granted, depends on one’s sense of humor and is subjective. I think a second part of the problem is how often these ads run. They’re on all the time, and that can grate on people’s nerves. I think a third problem is the singing jingle at the end of each ad — it’s dumb, and coupled with how often people have to hear it, well… You can see how it might tick folks off.

          The result is an ad campaign that is very polarizing. For every person who says they like the emu, I hear from two or three who hate it. And not just casually. For some reason, Liberty’s last two ad campaigns have really touched some nerves.

          I think Liberty’s best bet is to send its ad agency back to the drawing board to come up with an idea and execution that’s just as creative, but less costly (that CGI can’t be cheap) and triggering.

          If only it were that easy, right? Such is the challenge of being provocative.

100. Nice job, Rob, in analyzing these spots. In my opinion, it’s a terrible campaign (and not at all funny). LM would do so much better using real customers in their ads, but this is probably too much time and effort for the agency producing them. At the very least, they should give me a reason to switch. Alas, there are none.

     1. Hi, Tom. That’s a great idea about using actual customers in ads. What better way to prove the company is good at its job than to have real people step up and say so? But nah. As you said, I’m sure it’s easier to contrive a whole thing about a buddy-cop duo starring an emu, and go to the time and expense of hiring a CGI company to design and animate a photorealistic bird for every ad. (Ha! I bet that costs a LOT more than a few flights and hotels for happy customers!)

        But I suspect that a simple testimonial campaign would be considered boring or lazy by most advertising and marketing people today. Showcasing happy customers isn’t going to win any awards! We need something sexier. Even if it is a giant, flightless bird.

        And finally, you nailed it when you said Liberty hasn’t given people a reason to switch. Isn’t that, like, one of the main jobs of an ad?

        Did Liberty and its ad agency get so wrapped up in its creative ideas that they forgot what they were supposed to be doing? Or, more damningly, does Liberty perhaps not have HAVE a good reason for people to switch?

        Thanks for reading, Tom, and stay tuned. The next Cranky Ad Review looks at an advertiser that is using real people in its ads–and somehow, still isn’t getting it right.

        1. Don’t blame the insurance companies alone. The ad companies are more to blame then anyone. They haven’t come up with more then 20% of the commercials on tv in the past 15 years that we’re ether informative or fun. Some you can’t even tell what they are trying to sell you!

           1. Funny story, Al: Just the other day, someone found this review by searching for info about the “ostrich” in the “Progressive” insurance commercials.

              Hey, advertising agencies! If your ads are so convoluted and off-the-mark that consumers can’t tell what the hell’s going on or even WHICH COMPANY THE AD IS FOR, it might be time to reconsider your strategy and whether you’re doing your client justice.

              Thanks for reading, Al.

101. If Anonymous finds the LiMu commercials entertaining and funny, I’m guessing he/she also has the complete collection of Police Academy movies in his/her video library.

     1. OK, now THAT is funny. Thanks for the laugh, Mike!

        1. I don’t know … there’s something kind of endearingly goofy about the two of them.

           1. Yeah, I guess I can kind of see it, Josie. Probably a result of being bludgeoned into a stupor by them several times a day for the past six months, but still.

              Thanks for reading.

           2. I agree. So much better than whiny people in front of the Statue of Liberty thinking it’s okay to get into an accident.

102. WOW! Talk about a bunch of snotty people who jumped off the deep end of the pool without their senses of humor! It’s just a friggin’ commercial people. Don’t blowout the tiny bit of gray matter you have on something that obviously got your attention. Job well done Liberty.

     1. Attention-getting isn’t the same as effective, Anonymous. By your measure, Liberty Mutual could play its brain-dead jingle (LIBERDY-LIBERDY-LIBERDY… LIBERDY!!!) for 30 seconds straight and it would be effective because 1) we’d all know the name, 2) we’d remember it, and 3) we’d all be talking about it.

        But that wouldn’t be a good ad. And neither are the LiMu ads, in my opinion, mostly for the fact that they lack a compelling (or even unique) selling proposition.

        Thanks for taking the time to comment!

     2. THANKS!! My thoughts exactly! I find it to be an improvement over all the riverfront ones. Gives me a chuckle at least!

     3. Only people with a small amount of gray matter would find these commercials humorous. The only attention is to the mute button on the remote. Very irritating commercial Liberty, if you sincerely research or poll on this you would realize how retarded these ads are.

        1. The mute button on my remote gets a lot of attention thanks to these ads, too, Anonymous. As another reader pointed out, it’s poor writing that makes Liberty’s ads so hard to watch. They employ a top-flight agency, so I’m not sure why they can’t see it.

           Thanks for your comment.

     4. Ok maybe agree with you up until the 1 millionth time I had to hear the stupid dialogue. How about a new ad Liberty, Liberty, Liberty??

        1. Agh, be careful what you ask for, Gail. Every new Liberty Mutual ad seems to be stupider than the last!

103. I think these commercials are very entertaining. It wouldn’t convince me to buy the insurance but they are quite funny.

     1. Well, you know what they say–humor is subjective. If you see these commercials as many times a day as I do, then I’m glad you enjoy them!

     2. Then the company wasted money. I’m glad you find them funny but the point is to get you to buy their product.

        1. Agreed. Advertising people are in business to sell products and services. If they want to do comedy, they should go to Hollywood or try their luck at an open mike night near their office.

     3. We wonder if you will still find these insurance commercials “funny” after seeing them on TV every five minutes all day and night for the next ten months???

104. Lame-U Emu

     1. Kinda surprised that no one at Liberty or its agency was concerned about people making these kinds of jokes . . . because it’s happening.

105. Agree 100%! Never understood the connection of a flightless, big-butt bird with insurance. In fact, it took a couple of painful viewings for me to realize that LiMu was short for Liberty Mutual. This sounds like a bad inside joke that the agency nerds came up with (go back to your parents’ basement, you worthless millennial turds). And the dude (Doug) who is his partner should end up in a car crash with Mr. Mayhem. Except of an occasional GEICO ad, insurance advertising is being created by numbskulls. I can’t say what ad has ever provoked me to call for a quote. Keep wasting your money insurance companies, and making the elite know-nothings on Madison Avenue rich.

     1. See, everyone? I told you these ads struck a nerve. 🙂

        You’re right, Mike, it does seem irresponsible for these big insurance companies to spend so much on advertising in general, and on Madison Avenue hokum in particular.

        Just give us the facts, advertisers. Do it well and you can put away the grease paint and clown shoes — we’ll remember you without them.

        1. Whoever has the least or NO commercials can save millions and pass that on to us .Word of mouth is not out of date !!

           1. If only, Anonymous. But you are right about “word of mouth.” Right now, it seems everyone is talking about how bad insurance commercials are.

              1. Bottom line is, a company isn’t going to waste time or money churning out the same commercial over a long period of time (like Limu Emu) unless they’re getting paid and a growing customer base. That means, it doesn’t matter what you or I say think or say about it.

                 Besides, there are many things that all of us here like that many others may find stupid or horrible. That just means we like different things.

                 I find some of their commercials annoying, but I understand that’s an opinion and nothing more. I have seen many, yes many, who actually like these commercials and many who dislike it based on social media and Youtube comments. Not everybody hates them, many don’t like them and many do like them.

        2. I mute every commercial. Companies don’t want to spend $$$ on new ads but must realize after all these negative comments, that the current ridiculously stupid and annoying commercials are chasing potential customers away.

           1. Guess they have some mentally deficient ad men.

           2. I definitely won’t be buying any insurance from such morons that keep up with these lame and ignorant commercials.

              1. Good on you, Gail. Vote with your wallet! (Or purse!)

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