Unlike insurance for our cars, homes, healthcare, and even our lives, most Amercians have never heard of legal insurance. Even fewer understand why they might need it. Instances like contractor disputes, caring for an aging parent, and landlord/tenant disputes are just a few reasons why three in four people will experience a legal issue.
“Legal Needs Are in Your Future,” the latest campaign from Barkley and ARAG legal insurance, reminds people that while you can’t predict the future, you can prepare for it with legal insurance. Actress Kathy Najimy portrays a fortune-teller who predicts her unsuspecting client's legal futures and reveals that legal issues are more common than they think.
Kathy: Oh! This one means that there's a real big dog in your future.
Woman: I've always wanted to get a Mastiff and name it Tiny.
Friend: That is so you!
Kathy: She's funny. Yeah, but this dog's name is Jeff. He's 37 with a 340 credit score. He's gonna take half your stuff because you didn't have a prenup.
Announcer: Legal needs are in your future. And while you can't predict them, you can plan for them. Enroll in ARAG Legal Insurance where you work.
Woman: Was he at least cute?
Kathy: No. Ugly as a bone.
"The New House" shows Najimy reading tea leaves to a blissfully unaware couple. They smile as she tells them she sees a house in their future. They grow more excited with each new detail she sees – a fenced in backyard, a great school district, a finished basement. All these predictions cumulate to a final vision: a big, beautiful…. undisclosed mold problem.
Najimy’s fortune teller repeats this pattern with other unsuspecting clients as she sees one man with a red convertible…. and an excess of speeding tickets. For another she pulls a tarot card with a dog on it. When the woman exclaims that she has always wanted a dog, the fortune teller explains that this dog isn’t a pet, it’s her future ex-husband.
Najimy’s fortune teller repeats this pattern with other unsuspecting clients as she sees one man with a red convertible…. and an excess of speeding tickets. For another she pulls a tarot card with a dog on it. When the woman exclaims that she has always wanted a dog, the fortune teller explains that this dog isn’t a pet, it’s her future ex-husband.
“Legal issues are on display daily in the media, whether it’s a celebrity or politician, yet people generally don’t consider protecting themselves from the legal issues that they’re realistically vulnerable to,” says Chris Cima, VP Creative Director at Barkley. “This campaign brings to light the everyday realities of legal issues and how people can leverage legal insurance to their benefit.”
The creative was shot in affiliation with the Free the Bid project, which aims to give more opportunities to women filmmakers in advertising, film and television. In addition to the female director, there was also a BIPOC assistant director on set as a result of Barkley’s commitment to the AICP’s Double the Line initiative.
The national campaign launches on August 15, 2022.