Specialist Insurer Hiscox and Uncommon Launch the Most Disastrous Campaign Ever

Specialist insurer Hiscox has unveiled its new, nationwide brand campaign including innovative and playful outdoor, special builds, DOOH and press.

The campaign focuses on the stories of small business owners, dramatising the risks and challenges they face, through a series of wryly-told scenarios. The campaign line is ‘The story of your business, underwritten by Hiscox’.

In addition to conventional media spaces, the campaign includes a wide range of innovative ‘special-build’ outdoor executions that physically represent the risks shown within the ads. Mud is splattered across one poster site to highlight a client mess up, while seemingly exposed wires dramatise electrical hazards.

Executions also appear to have been duplicated, mis-sized and incorrectly installed in the campaign, running across 17 UK towns and cities. This includes a typo execution with details including Hiscox spelt incorrectly.

The campaign includes purposefully disastrous executions across outdoor and press. This includes a blank newspaper wrap for the Metro accompanied by inside and back page ads that read ‘you missed the deadline to supply a front page for your client’s cover wrap and now they’re threatening to get legal.’ As well as a WeTransfer takeover.

Developed by creative studio Uncommon and bought and planned by Total Media, the new advertising is part of an integrated marketing campaign featuring posters, OOH, DOOH, radio ads, digital marketing and public relations activity.

The initial launch targets SMEs, a core audience for the insurer with executions to target insurance brokers also launching this week. A campaign aimed at high value homeowners is expected towards the end of this year or early 2024.

Fiona Mayo, UK marketing director, Hiscox UK said: “Hiscox is a different type of insurer. We are specialists, not generalists and our advertising reflects that. In a category that’s often serious and cautious, we’ve created a campaign with a distinctive visual approach and intelligent humour that’s rooted in deep insight, to stand apart.”

Lucy Jameson, co-founder at Uncommon: “We’re proud to share our first work for Hiscox — which is quite literally, the most disastrous campaign ever. From typos to burst pipes — this playful outdoor work uses multiple special builds to bring to life real stories of the risks and challenges that affect business owners today.

In the insurance category which usually plays it safe — this message is bold and brave — differentiating and elevating Hiscox’s people focussed offering, with a provocative new tone of voice.”

Tom Laranjo, CEO, Total Media added: “Hiscox’s latest campaign creates a compelling narrative that any small or medium-sized business owner will be able to relate to. Leveraging our behavioural science expertise, Total Media is ensuring that narrative lands with the right people at the right moments. Driving the brand’s message of support for small business owners across multiple fronts including out of home, print and radio, we are aiming to build an understanding of its specialist expertise that SMEs can rely upon.”