Admittedly, I was only watching the Super Bowl to see Madonna at halftime, Tom Brady (in spandex) at any time, and a good commercial or two along the way. Of all these things, I didn’t expect an insurance ad to stick in my head, but I can’t stop thinking about MetLife’s new campaign, “Everyone,” by CP+B.

The ad was entertaining and uncontrollably lured my attention with cartoons from my childhood. I usually associate MetLife with the Peanuts gang, but here were the greatest hits of cartoon characters from the late 70s and early 80s alongside Charlie Brown and friends. I liked how the ad resolved this uncanny assemblage of cartoon characters with a message that more or less went like this: “No matter who I am or how much I earn, I can secure a better financial future. I can do this.” A welcome, positive message for a rather tricky subject.

But why did MetLife feel the need to bring in other cartoons beyond the Peanuts gang? To a certain extent, the Peanuts characters with their myriad (and strong) personalities support the message of “Everyone,” but that’s a bit of a stretch. And it probably wasn’t Charles Schultz’s intention to represent every type of American; he more likely used the comics as vehicles for humor and social commentary. Moreover, not “everyone” reads Peanuts, which most often appears in print; I would hazard a majority of people get their cartoons on television. 

MetLife didn’t look for a cartoon with more plurality of representation for its “Everyone” campaign. Instead, it turned to a plurality of cartoon character sets, among which everyone has a favorite, but who collectively represent a shared past. Whether you were watching the Jetsons or reading Peanuts, you still wax nostalgic. And since you can’t take in all the characters in just one viewing, the campaign invites you to interact with it on other channels. 

I’ve been on Facebook all week, watching “out-takes” and meeting the “cast.” Yosemite Sam, Waldo, Fat Albert, Marvin the Martian! But what really got my “like” button going was the video of Voltron doing the robot. Good for the person at CP+B who thought of this! I’ll do the robot for you any day. Clearly, they have their target down pat, as I’ve been sharing this video internally at work, with friends on Facebook, and on my Twitter feed. Good God, have I become an insurance sales person? A well done social media blitz for an insurance company! 

My only gripe is that after such a masterful experience from TV to Facebook, the linkage to the actual MetLife site from its Facebook page was a letdown. Say I’m actually interested in learning more about MetLife’s products, and click on the link provided in the “About Us” section. It directs me to a lifeless page with contact numbers on MetLife’s corporate site. Without He-Man, Judy Jetson, or even MetLife’s trademark Snoopy, the party is grimly over, and I am suddenly no longer interested in learning more. To be fair, MetLife’s homepage does a better job of connecting with the campaign and engaging with the actual products. It might be better to lead potential clients there instead.

Will this campaign get people to buy more insurance from MetLife? Who’s to say? But it certainly gives MetLife’s sales force a fair chance to break through, especially if they’re offering Voltron action figures. And if their salesperson can do the robot, all the better.