• Slate, Tuesday, November 14, 2006 11:17 AM

Seth Stevenson just can't figure out what one TV spot is selling--even after seeing the ad again and again. The spot in question features a man and woman playing a futuristic football game against a band of robots, while the pair engage in an ongoing conversation.

The next time he saw it, he realized it was for Esurance, an online car-insurance company. "But I remained convinced that the spot would wash over the average viewer, leaving no impression. The problem: That surreal, out-of-nowhere story line is just way too distracting."

The other ads in the Esurance campaign also feature bizarre plot lines that in no way relate to car insurance. The spots were made in-house without help from an ad agency.

Read the whole story at Slate »