Hippo's first TV spot un-destroyed a home in reverse — awareness rose 300% in weeks

Break out of insurance advertising clutter without jokes, jingles or catchphrases, while delivering Hippo's value propositions and building awareness of what makes its policies better.

Show home and property destruction in reverse: demolished possessions visibly piece themselves back together — the one thing every policyholder actually wants.

Directors Glenn Martin and Terry Rietta shot mesmerising slow-motion destruction played backwards, paired with a hypnotic backwards piano track; Nomad handled strategy, production, editorial, VFX and sound design in-house.

A self-reported success in its first four weeks on air: Hippo's brand awareness soared 300% and quote requests jumped 317%, per Nomad's campaign announcement.

In October 2019, Nomad Creative Studio created and produced the first-ever television campaign for Hippo Insurance, the home insurer 'transforming home insurance to fit the tailored needs of modern homeownership'. LBB reported the spot was 'a massive success in its first four weeks on the air': brand awareness soared by 300% and quote requests jumped by 317%.

The film shows mesmerising slow-motion home and property destruction in reverse — demolished property and possessions inside a home being pieced back together instead of torn apart — paired with a soundtrack built on a hypnotic backwards piano track. 'We knew we couldn't break out of the insurance clutter with jokes, jingles and catch phrases, so we looked for an emotion to build on,' said Joanne O'Brien Rietta, managing director at Nomad. 'What most people want after an accident is for things to just go back to the way they were.'

The goal was differentiation: strong visuals conveying the important part Hippo plays in assisting homeowners, while doing 'heavy lifting' on its value propositions. Hippo chief brand officer Bob Ferrini credited Nomad's integrated model — debating live-action versus CGI and shooting in Argentina during creative development — for landing an idea executable within budget. The campaign came months after Hippo announced $100M in funding at a $1B valuation, available in 19 states covering more than 50% of the US homeowners population.

The visual device is the value proposition: reversal footage says 'we put your home back' without a single spoken claim.

It differentiated by subtracting the category's crutches — no jokes, jingles or catchphrases — in its first TV outing.

The results were quantified at launch: +300% awareness and +317% quote requests in four weeks, self-reported by the agency.

In a category drowning in gags, the emotional truth of the product — 'make it go back to how it was' — can itself be the visual device.

As of the October 2019 announcement, the campaign was on air in Hippo's first TV push, with the company planning to reach 80% of the US homeowners population by the end of 2019.