Budget Direct launched Detective Sarge and its 'Insurance Solved' era

Create a campaign as innovative, engaging and unique as Budget Direct's award-winning-cover-for-less proposition, introducing new characters built to last.

A 2-minute-30-second TVC by legendary British director Daniel Kleinman — known for Bond title sequences — shot through Goodoil in and around Sydney, airing in primetime including Sunday Night, 60 Minutes and The Project, plus cinema and YouTube, with a 60-second cut following. Led by ECD Richard Morgan, creative director Adam Whitehead and copywriter Mike Burdick; cut at The Editors, VFX by Alt.VFX, music by Sonar, photography by Mat Baker. It closed on the new line: 'Budget Direct — Insurance Solved.'

Captain Risky had made Budget Direct Australia's fastest-growing car and home insurer over four years; Sarge took over as the platform character, and the 'Insurance Solved' line became the campaign vehicle under which later instalments like 'Blown Away' (2023) ran.

In September 2018, Budget Direct launched a new major campaign via 303 MullenLowe Sydney, fronted by a new character: a detective named Sarge who investigates a series of truly remarkable incidents. Despite the inexplicable happenings, Sarge uncovers the real mystery — why the people involved paid more than they had to for their insurance — closing on 'It's a mystery why anyone would pay more for insurance' and the new line 'Budget Direct — Insurance Solved.'

The 2-minute-30-second hero film was shot by Daniel Kleinman, the British director known for his award-winning commercial work and James Bond title sequences, through production company Goodoil, and aired that night in primetime including Sunday Night on 7, 60 Minutes on 9 and The Project on 10, with cinema and YouTube runs and a 60-second version following from Sunday. The project was led by ECD Richard Morgan, creative director Adam Whitehead and copywriter Mike Burdick, filmed in and around Sydney, cut at The Editors, with Alt.VFX on effects, Sonar on the score and Mat Baker on photography.

The launch retired Captain Risky, who over four years had become a household name and helped Budget Direct become Australia's fastest-growing car and home insurer. Morgan called it a privilege to work with a courageous brand on a campaign of this scale; chief marketing officer Jonathan Kerr said the aim was marketing as innovative as the insurer's offer, and Kleinman predicted Sarge and Jac were characters audiences would enjoy following 'now and in the future'.

Four years of Captain Risky had peaked, and the brand needed a new story arc to keep entertaining Australia.

The crime-thriller format let product messages ride inside an actual narrative instead of interrupting one.

A 2.5-minute primetime premiere treated an insurance ad like an event, earning attention no 30-second slot could.

Kleinman's Bond-title pedigree gave the new characters instant cinematic credibility.

Retire a loved campaign character at its peak and give the replacement a bigger canvas — a 2.5-minute primetime thriller — so the platform reads as an upgrade, not a retreat.

Sarge, Jac and Chief carried the Insurance Solved platform for years afterward, including the 2023 instalment 'Blown Away' and campaigns beyond, making it one of Australian insurance's longest-running creative platforms.