Hey you,

Even car insurance companies should be more interested in being VISIBLY green.

1. Fuel-efficient cars get a lower premium.

2. PT bike-riding workers get a lower premium.

3. When a 16 year-old gets added to the policy, Allstate sends the kid a really cool bike.

4. Allstate hooks-up with a bike manufacturer to make the freebie happen — lots of PR and parents will LOVE IT.

5. The bike company then works out speedometers or tracking mechanism that relates the kid’s premium to the ratio between bike riding and car driving — obviously the more the kid bikes, the lower the premium.

6. Adding your kid to the premium (especially boys) is hugely expensive — premium stays ridiculously high till they’re about 23 years old.

7. Insert Vespa for Bike.

8. Way cooler and still better than a car.

9. Then run an ad with kids on Vespa going to Prom.

10. Make alternative energy cooler — it’s no skin off an insurance company’s nose.

11. Give DDB ad agency planners and creatives a new brief: “how can we make car insurance greener and people safer?” and riff on ideas like premiums, 16 year olds, fuel efficiency, vespas, babies, seniors, gather stats on safety and alternative modes of transport, figure out new ways to reward and incentivize people to do the right thing or be just a little bit greener, penalize those with bigger engines, brainstorm other partnerships, sponsorships, beside the usual suspects like car and bike and vespa companies. What could they do with starbucks which is a stop on the way to everyone’s commute? Like free espresso for anyone wearing a bike helmet, sponsored by Allstate.

12. Don’t expect all people to ride bikes and take public transport — think of baby steps to get people at least moving in the right direction.

Love ya, teresa

P.S. Add this line to the "brief ddb" section. "Extend thinking to other insurance policies beside auto. Lower home owner insurance rates for people who use energy-efficient lightbulbs, that sort of thing..."

I challenge State Farm to have an agent contact me and offer me a protection plan like any other legal road user.

SF you can contact me through my site.. http://www.russroca.com

Email is listed there.

But clearly we have heard your concerns. In fact, we take very seriously each letter, email and blog comment we receive.

During the past few days, I discussed the perception of this advertisement with others at State Farm, and we decided the right thing to do would be to discontinue it. We will remove this ad as quickly as possible from the current rotation schedule.

Please know that State Farm is very concerned about doing what we can to improve the health, safety and environment in our communities.

For example, in numerous states, employees can earn up to $1.50 a day by ridesharing, walking, or riding a bike to work. We also have more than 1,200 employees participating in van pooling throughout the country.

As I mentioned in my earlier comment, State Farm has also been a supporter of bicycle safety through the thousands of bicycle rodeos we’ve held for children throughout the US and Canada. We remain open to discussion about how State Farm might partner with the bicycling community in the future.

We value direct consumer input as we make decisions about our advertising messages and safety programs. As a mutual company with no stockholders, we work hard to be good stewards of our policyholders’ money.

For more information about State Farm, go to statefarm.com http://www.statefarm.com/about/csr/csr.asp or talk to a local State Farm agent.

Thank you,
Tim Van Hoof
Director of Marketing Communications
State Farm

1. Investigate the link between bike-friendly cities and insurance claims and, if positive, immediately institute a discount for drivers who live in a League of American Bicyclists-designated Bike Friendly City.

2. Jump to a broader livable streets perspective and make a substantial contribution to the Safe Routes to School program. Kids. Health. Safety. Community.

Not only would this save frequent bikers a ton of money, but it would add an incremental cost to each car trip; miles driven would be sure to drop and miles biked would be sure to increase.

The next best thing they could do might be to offer separate bike insurance. We'd have to see what they would charge, but you might be able to get a low price with a lower deductable than you get with renters or home insurance.

The State Farm press relase:
http://www.statefarm.com/about/media/media_releases/new_campaign.asp

Here is some good background on the campaign, which originated at DDB...in Chicago, of all places...

(Cut and paste in entirety here since Advertising Age is subscription only.)

State Farm Strikes Back at Rivals
DDB's Effort for Insurer to Combat Plague of Geckos, Cavemen, Ducks

By Jeremy Mullman
Published: March 14, 2008
CHICAGO (AdAge.com) -- The last campaign from DDB, Chicago, creative chief Paul Tilley is for State Farm, and it attempts to hold off big-spending, hard-charging competitors by co-opting many of the arguments they've used to pressure the No. 1 property/casualty insurer.

Breaking this weekend, the campaign -- titled "Intersections" -- riffs off the Illinois-based insurer's long-held slogan ("Like a good neighbor, State Farm is there") in new ways, and from multiple perspectives.

One spot shows a young consumer, caught at the intersection of "an 8 percent mortgage and a 3 percent raise," but still saving money on insurance, a pricing nod more typical of Progressive or Nationwide. Another shows a father -- his daughter driving spastically behind him -- saying he's at the place of "Daddy, I can't wait to get my license meets I can't believe my baby's driving" -- a reference to adjusting coverage to fit life changes, which closely echoes Travelers' recent "Insurance. In Sync" effort.

A third scene shows an agent on the scene of a fender bender, a service-related claim more typical of State Farm's past efforts.

Red dot marks the spot
As in the other two, the agent declares, "I'm there." In every case, the protagonist is standing on a red dot similar to a "You are here" marker on a map, which State Farm likely hopes will become as ubiquitous as the geckos, cavemen and ducks at the centerpiece of other campaigns in the increasingly free-spending category.

State Farm's VP-advertising, Mark Gibson, said the apparent similarities to the pitches of its deep-pocketed challengers was a result of the insurer's consumer research, not any attempt to mimic competitors. "What our competitors do is not a concern," he said. "This is a big brand that can go very broad or very deep. ... We're really putting a bow on it."

State Farm managed to keep its market-leading share of premiums written stable at 9.8% in 2007, virtually unchanged from the prior year, according to the National Association of Insurance Commissioners. But holding share has been tough for its bottom line, as the insurer has been forced to cut prices. Net income rose 2.6%, to $5.4 billion, in 2007, but only because the company declined to pay a companywide dividend. Its underwriting profit actually fell 79%.

State Farm spent $319 million on measured media last year according to TNS Media Intelligence, less than Geico ($559 million), Allstate ($370 million) and Progressive ($371 million).

Becoming more visible
Mr. Gibson wouldn't say if the new campaign would see more spending, but he did say that the brand would be more visible than in the past, including more-aggressive digital and guerilla marketing. The push will kick off this weekend with home-page takeovers of major web portals such as Google, Yahoo and MSN, as well as a television presence on "selection Sunday" for the NCAA basketball tournament.

It will also employ mobile billboards, street teams and what Mr. Gibson described as "unexpected" executions in venues like shopping malls and retailers throughout the country, as well as a large presence at several NCAA tournament sites later this month. All of these will emphasize the "I'm there" platform, Mr. Gibson said.

The campaign will be of particular interest in the advertising community because it represents the last project for Mr. Tilley, who committed suicide last month. Mr. Tilley spent his last day on the job in New Orleans helping wrap up the campaign.

Mr. Gibson said Mr. Tilley played a key role in the campaign's development, and seemed pleased with the final product.

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Allstate has their ads about reducing cellphone use and other driver distraction, health insurers have newsletters about healthy diet and exercise. It's about profit but the end effect is not entirely sinister.

Isn't it feasible for any auto insurance provider to simply encourage biking? Cars that are sitting in garages cost the same to insure and don't get in wrecks. Who benefits? The shareholder and the earth.

Don't mistake me for a capitalist or a conservative. I'm just saying this is something that makes sense, the world being what it is.

I would love to have my driver behavior distinguished from all the wild young boys going 80 on the Belt Parkway and 60 Eastern Parkway.

I'd like to see a series of ads that promote commuting by bike, cycling as activity for everyone (not just kids!), cyclists as viable road users, and a suggestion that State Farm customers (and everyone) try to leave the car at home once a week and walk, take transit or bike.