• by November 10, 2008

As Liberty Mutual Group on Monday announced third-quarter net income is down a whopping 99% from a year earlier--from $404 million to $ 6 million--the insurance giant debuted a video ad on The Huffington Post for its nine-month-old branded-entertainment program, "The Responsibility Project."

 

The online ad is essentially a 30-second trailer that directs viewers to a "full-length" version of a new film, "Tony," starring Tate Donovan and directed by Academy Award-nominated producer Grant Heslov ("Good Night & Good Luck"). The full-length version--all of 13 minutes long--is the latest independently produced short film showcased on The Responsibility Project's online community, www.responsibilityproject.com--designed as a forum for people to discuss personal acts of responsibility.

For instance, in this case, "Donovan stars as Michael, a relentlessly responsible father. But the Tony at issue isn't his son. It's his son's teddy bear. Or more vexingly, his 6-year-old son's lost teddy bear.... Watch "Tony," and see how one man's dedication and determination to track a child's inanimate toy takes on a life of its own and buoys the spirits of a most unlikely search party along the way, struggling to find a bear--and their own surprising new depths of personal responsibility."

"Tony" was produced by Smoke House Pictures, a co-venture of Heslov and George Clooney. The site's nine other films, both live-action and animated, also focus on people faced with ethical choices--coming from such sources as RSA Films, Expolis, Time Inc. Studios and Acme Filmworks. The 10 films represent half of the 20 films originally promised by Liberty Mutual for this year.

Taking The Responsibility Project beyond the Web, the company also entered into programming partnership with NBC earlier this year for a TV movie pilot called "Kings," about a young soldier who saves a king's son, leading to peace. The project, with the tag line "Hope Lies in Bravery," is now slated as a mid-season series on the network. The partners also promised a second movie that would air on both NBC and USA Network during the current TV season.

Liberty Mutual's ad agency is Hill Holliday, Boston, and Magna Global Entertainment also worked on the movie component.

The Responsibility Project also recently unveiled its Responsibility Index , based on a survey of more than 2,500 Americans this summer. Among the key findings:

• Most people believe they are responsible, but their neighbors and fellow Americans are not;
• People don't know their neighbors;
• People are focused inwardly on their own families rather than the community;
• When people don't know their neighbors well, they fill in their knowledge gaps about the behavior of others with what they see in the media -- with 76% believing that reality TV shows have a negative effect on personal community, and an equal number believing that the media's attention on celebrity lifestyles lessens people's own sense of personal responsibility.

Liberty Mutual on Monday attributed its third-quarter decline largely to losses related to hurricanes Ike and Gustav. It also closed its acquisition of Safeco during the quarter. Revenues for the quarter rose 4.3%, to $6.87 billion.