"One of those most beloved and memorable (albeit sometimes annoying) animal mascots is the Aflac duck, whose story stemmed from an unlikely place. "Our advertising agency was in Central Park sitting on a bench. And they heard ducks and they noticed it sounded like Aflac," the insurance giant's CEO Dan Amos told Fortune. "And so the quack, quack, Aflac became the idea. And that's how we got in."
"Amos, at the time of the commercial launch, was actually reluctant to run with the idea because he thought it was making light of the company's name. This was also right around the time other insurance giants like Geico had started running funny and lighthearted animal-related ads. The Geico gecko first made its appearance in 1997, according to its company history."
Animals function as cross-cultural mascots that attract emotional appeal. The Aflac duck originated when ad agency staff in Central Park noticed duck quacks sounded like 'Aflac.' The 'Park Bench' commercial debuted in 2000, produced by Kaplan Thaler Group, and helped double the company's business within three years. Company leadership initially hesitated because the campaign made light of the corporate name, but the campaign yielded massive gains. Aflac shares grew from about $28 million to roughly $220 million, and annual revenue reached $18.9 billion. Brand recognition climbed from 11% to 94% between 2000 and 2014.
Read at Fortune
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