Aflac Duck To Be Partly Muzzled

[matcom]

<snip>

If it looks like a duck and quacks like a duck, then maybe it should shut up for a while.

Aflac, the insurance company that rose to pop-cultural heights on the wings of a waterfowl, is launching a $50 million ad campaign that partly muzzles its web-footed friend and instead seeks to better define what the company does. The move is a risky one, given the iconic status the feathered creature has reached since being introduced in January 2000.

Known for its loud "Aflac" quack, the duck has become one of the country's most recognizable ad icons. Before its first appearance, most people had never heard of the Columbus, Ga., purveyor of supplemental workplace insurance. Since that time, however, Aflac's brand awareness has skyrocketed to 90% from 12%, the company says. But in today's competitive business environment, name recognition alone isn't enough.

"Consumers were saying, 'I know you are insurance and you have this duck that quacks, but what can you do for me?' " says Al Johnson, Aflac's vice president of advertising and branding.

http://online.wsj.com/article_email/0,,SB110194879769588808-IdjeoNolah3opurZoKGbqeHm5,00.html

[Inland]

1. Can I change my screen name to "AFLAC" without penalty?

[gollygee]

2. I hate that damn duck

Those are some of the most annoying commercials out there!

[ET Awful]

3. I like the duck :)

Especially in the first few commercials. I think he's hilarious :)

[Lavender Brown]

4. Ben Affleck should do an Aflac commercial with the duck

It would be cute, and his career is going nowhere anyway. :)