What it had to solve
Rise above product offers and playfully communicate AA Insurance's role in covering the things people care about, so Kiwis can live free from worry about what could go wrong.
The idea
Stage a T-rex stalking a unicorn around a family home — then reveal the pair is a father and daughter living freer because they're insured.
How it works
A heavy-CGV spot directed by Adam Gunser through Good Oil, with post by Alt.VFX Australia, ends the chase by revealing the pair's true identity; it rolled out in 45, 30 and 6-second cuts across TV, cinema, digital, radio and social.
What it did
No audience or business results were reported at launch; commenters on the trade write-up praised the craft, one calling it 'rare that you see a heavy VFX spot and actually feel something'.
Background
In October 2019, AA Insurance launched 'Dinosaur vs Unicorn', the next wave of its Live a Little Freer platform, created with DDB New Zealand. Executive creative director Gary Steele said the objective was to stray from the standard rhetoric around insurance and remind people that the best moments in life occur when you embrace the chaos and enjoy the moment — which is only possible when you know you're insured.
The debut film follows a juvenile T-rex as she stalks her otherworldly unicorn prey around a family home, bumping and bashing about while the playful chase narrowly misses precious objects. Towards the end, the two characters reveal their true identity: a father and daughter living out a fantasy — the idea of living a little freer thanks to AA Insurance.
Brand and marketing manager Melodie Vickars said the campaign encapsulates the life AA Insurance hopes to shape for its customers — providing the cover New Zealanders need to live their best lives. The TVC rolled out in 45, 30 and 6-second versions, supported by cinema, digital, radio and social, with production by Good Oil (director Adam Gunser), post-production by Alt.VFX Australia and sound by Liquid Studios.
Why it lands
It dramatises the payoff of insurance — carefree play — instead of the disasters most insurance ads depict.
The father-daughter reveal turns a CG spectacle into an emotional point about what cover actually protects.
A T-rex versus unicorn chase reads instantly as childhood fantasy, making the 'live a little freer' idea literal.
What you can take
Insurance advertising defaults to fear; dramatising the worry-free life the product buys — as a child's fantasy come true — sells the upside instead.
Since then
The launch coverage reported no results; comments on the trade post praised the craft, calling the CG 'on point' and the idea 'sweet'.
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