Hastings Direct drove beside its cartoon double to sell simple insurance

Hastings Direct wanted a new brand positioning — 'Simplicity is the best policy' — to present itself as a distinctive, digital-first UK insurer, in a hyperbolic category loaded with mascots, and a step up from the seagulls-and-statues work the agency inherited.

A man drives alongside his cartoon double as life throws chaos at him — live action meets illustration to dramatise messy lives and one simple insurance app.

The flagship TV spot combined film, illustration and animation: animated characters humanise the message while a voiceover contrasts difficult truths — relationships are messy, fashion is crazy, finding your way is hard, family life is tricky — with the simplicity of Hastings Direct's app-based solutions. Wunderman Thompson's commerce team also redesigned the car insurance purchasing journey end to end.

Hastings Direct's first work with the agency, delivered almost entirely over MS Teams during the pandemic; the brand positioning was integrated into the redesigned purchase journey, building on what the client called the highest-rated insurance app in the UK.

Hastings Direct and Wunderman Thompson launched a new brand positioning — 'Simplicity is the best policy' — to position the UK insurer as a distinctive, digital-first brand. The integrated campaign dramatised the ease Hastings brings to colourful, chaotic lives, using straightforward language and impactful visuals to create tension between simplicity and complexity in a fun, memorable way.

The flagship TV spot combined film, illustration and animation: a man drives alongside his cartoon double, experiencing challenges life can throw at him, always with the Hastings Direct app offering simple solutions in case of emergency. Animated characters humanise the message as a voiceover contrasts difficult truths — relationships are messy, fashion is crazy, finding your way is hard, family life is tricky — with the simplicity of the insurer's answers.

'In a hyperbolic category overloaded with mascots, we wanted to remind people of how insurance with Hastings Direct can be simple and straightforward,' said Steve Aldridge, chief creative officer at Wunderman Thompson. 'It's a huge step, both strategically and creatively, from the seagulls and statues that we're proud to play a part in.' The positioning was also integrated into commerce, with the purchasing journey redesigned for a simpler, faster experience.

The cartoon double literalises the platform: chaos is drawn, the solution is real — the visual IS the positioning.

It rejects category convention on both axes at once: no mascot, and no hyperbole — just 'life is complicated, insurance is simple'.

The platform reached below the line: the same simplicity promise restructured the actual purchase journey, not just the ads.

Pair a real person with their cartoon double and you can show the gap between a complicated life and a simple product in one image.

Hastings Direct appointed Wunderman Thompson in August 2020 after a competitive pitch; this was the agency's first work for the brand, introducing an end-to-end experience above and below the line, with the client's digital transformation roadmap extending the app-led experience over the following 18 months.