Dive Brief:

• Allstate unveiled the second phase of a recently launched omnichannel campaign during Monday's College Football Playoff National Championship, according to a press release made available to Marketing Dive. The 30-second TV commercial shows the character named Mayhem breaking his New Year's resolution to renounce all mischief in 2018.
• During the Allstate Sugar Bowl on Jan. 1, the company released the first phase of the campaign with six videos showing Mayhem setting safety-focused goals of moving beyond his risky past. The ads depicted Mayhem in a variety of safety-driven roles, including posing as a lightning rod to prevent a strike from hitting a home, lying on the ground as a road flare to direct traffic in the dark and serving as a tennis ball hung from a ceiling to ensure drivers pull their car fully into the garage.
• Now, Mayhem is back to remind consumers that they can't always avoid life's uncertainties, but that they can be better covered with Allstate insurance and be "in good hands" even if their best intentions go awry.

Dive Insight:

The Allstate campaign, which was created with Leo Burnett Chicago, cleverly has its mascot character go through the same experience that many consumers have at the beginning of a new year, when they make resolutions to improve themselves and then often quickly break them. By doing so, the brand hopes to deepen its relationship with consumers by making Mayhem more relatable.

The Mayhem character, who changed his tune earlier in the campaign and promised to be more safety-minded, has broken his promise just one week into the New Year.

"We know viewers will relate to Mayhem as he falls flat in keeping his resolution — and, as a result, will remember that Allstate is there for backup," Jennifer Egeland, Allstate's director of brand strategy told Marketing Dive.

Taken together, the different phases of the campaign show one way brands can build a story with characters over a period of time. Storytelling has become more important in marketing as a way to grab the attention of consumers who have begun to tune out ads. The Mayhem character, played by actor Dean Winters, has starred in Allstate advertising since 2010, including previous spots during college football bowl games and efforts that have encouraged user-generated content on social media.

Allstate is smartly tapping large, loyal audiences of major football games in its latest campaign. Phase one debuted at the Allstate Sugar Bowl on Jan. 1, a good call given that the game generally reels in a massive audience. Last year's Sugar Bowl game saw nearly 10 million live viewers, according to ESPN. In a similar move, the company hopes to get in front of the many viewers of the NCAA championship. ABC News said demand for tickets to the game on StubHub were up 106% from this time last year. In 2017, the championship match reeled in 26 million live viewers across all channels, pointing to the potential reach for Allstate's latest efforts.