• by Judy Warner , October 2, 2006

People are fearful and more anxious than ever. There's the so-called triple squeeze of planning for retirement while educating children and caring for aging parents. People are living longer, and they worry about having enough money to sustain what they presume will be an active lifestyle. But American consumers really don't want to see any of that in advertising.

So, the Prudential still has The Rock to "grow and protect your wealth." MetLife ads still feature spokes-beagle Snoopy promising "Guarantees for the 'if' in Life." The Hartford urges consumers to "Prepare to Live" by trotting out the antlered Stag.

Earlier this year, Travelers bowed its first brand campaign since it was bought and merged into The St. Paul Companies. Looking to play off Travelers' legacy as the first insurer to write policies for cars, planes and space travel, Travelers adopted "In Synch" as its corporate tagline in ads created by Fallon in Minneapolis.

"As life and business are changing, the challenges and risks change with it," says Travelers spokesperson Joan Palm. "What we're saying is that Travelers stays ahead. We're in synch with the changing needs of our customers."

And now comes the latest from John Hancock Financial Services. For the last 10 years, Hancock has offered "Insurance for the unexpected. Investments for the Opportunities." Beginning today, Hancock proclaims: "The Future is Yours."

Like Travelers, the ads seek to put a new face on Hancock since it was bought out by Manulife Financial Corp. two years ago and began offering a broader array of products.

Hancock's new crop of ads again feature personal vignettes, but this time show how different people have fulfilled their life promises. The ads also remind consumers that in addition to insurance, Hancock offers investment products such as 401Ks, annuities and mutual funds.

"We were looking for a brand platform that was bigger than a campaign that would galvanize our organization internally and create a picture of our new organization externally," said Donna Driscoll, senior vice president, brand management and corporate communications, for Hancock.

What's missing in the new Hancock campaign, some experts say, may be relevance.

"It's trite and could be a line from any company," says Tim Koelzer, president of EquiBrand Consulting in San Francisco. "'The future is yours' may connect on some emotional level, but I don't see its relevancy."

Brand expert Jack Trout agrees: "Life is very popular right now [as a theme.] So, too, is your future. AT&T says: 'Your future is now.' What does that mean? We're living in a land of clichés. I hate meaningless slogans. Tell me what makes you different. Geico: I give you 15 minutes. You save me dough. I get that. It's saying something."

In previous campaigns, Hancock aligned itself with TV events such as the World Series and the Olympics. Driscoll says declining viewerships on both of those programs and the absence of more "appointment TV" prompted a cable media buy on lifestyle and news programming aimed at baby boomers-plus (ages 40-70) and the thousands of independent agents that sell Hancock products.

Satellite radio and finance-oriented print publications such as Kiplinger's and The Wall Street Journal's Personal Finance section also make the list. The 30-second spots will also air on Yahoo Finance. Estimated spending is $25-$30 million through early 2007.

Boston-based Hill Holliday, an Interpublic agency, created the new ads. It is the agency's first new campaign for Hancock since David D'Elessandro, the architect of the earlier "Real Life, Real Answers" campaign, retired as chairman and CEO.