Liberty Mutual Insurance on Monday introduced a new brand character inspired by a memorable moment in one of the company’s previous ads. Liberty Biberty, a fuzzy yellow puppet that wears a crown like the Statue of Liberty, takes its name from a mispronunciation of the brand’s name by a “bad actor” character in a 2019 spot that has remained in the internet lexicon.
Biberty is the latest entrant in the insurance category’s character cavalcade, which includes the Aflac Duck, the Geico Gecko and often multiple characters from the same brand: Jake From State Farm was recently joined by Stan, an anthropomorphic stanchion pad. The introduction of Biberty is part of the insurance carrier’s efforts to be in the consideration set of a category where top-of-mind awareness is key, explained Jenna Lebel, Liberty Mutual’s chief marketing officer for U.S. retail markets.
“Characters are very effective. We all know that [in insurance]. That's why we're all using them,” Lebel said. “The challenge is how do you introduce a new one in a unique and memorable way that really stands out and resonates with consumers, among a sea of characters.”
Biberty debuts in a series of comedic 30-second and 15-second ads which see the puppet engage with consumers near their cars and meet the “bad actor” character from the spot that inspired its creation. Biberty was developed by the brand, creative agency Bandits & Friends and Jim Henson’s Creature Shop.
Biberty will join LiMu Emu and Doug on the Liberty character roster, but will not replace the buddy-cop duo, which were created by Goodby Silverstein & Partners in 2019. Two GS&P creatives who developed the pair are among the co-founders of Bandits & Friends, which became Liberty’s creative AOR in 2024.
“Liberty Biberty was already hugely culturally relevant, and we saw this untapped potential as an opportunity for the brand to capitalize on,” Nicholas Bauman, group creative director at the agency, said in a statement. “So, we turned a flubbed line into an entity in and of itself, while tying it back to Liberty Mutual. And a fuzzy, yellow manifestation of the feeling of great insurance made perfect sense to us.”
Bringing up Biberty
The creation of Biberty was the result of a process during which Liberty reviewed a handful of campaign concepts and more than 160 ads. The character performed well in a pre-market research testing environment, Lebel said, perhaps due to the durability of the “biberty” meme in advertising, pop culture and sports.
“Brands can spend years and millions of dollars trying to build that kind of cultural equity from scratch, but we already had it, so that gave us a little bit of an opportunity,” Lebel said. “We're not manufacturing a mascot and hoping it sticks: We're taking something we already know works and giving it a bigger role in the world.”
After landing on the Biberty concept, the brand and agency decided to make the character a tangible, physical puppet that can bring joy and delight to consumers, stand out in the category and provide flexibility for in-person events and activations. Teaming with the Henson Creature Shop and puppeteer Grant Baciocco, a 20-year-veteran of the company, gave Biberty an expert touch.
“We had countless conversations about how big he was, how furry and fuzzy he was, how big was his mouth? What did his teeth look like? Where did the crown get placed? We were really thoughtful and intentional about every decision, and we got a lot of consumer feedback along the way,” Lebel said of Biberty’s creation.
Along with IRL activations, Biberty will appear along with LiMu Emu and Doug across TV, streaming, social and creator partnerships. The character will also feature in media integrations with NBC’s “Sunday Night Baseball” and ESPN’s “SportsCenter.”
“We’re trying to put Biberty across our existing media buy, but also looking for more opportunistic ways to get him out into the world and establish him as Liberty Mutual's new character,” Lebel said.
