Erin Esurance

Erin Esurance TV Commercials

Both the Erin Esurance character and ad campaign were created and developed by Esurance’s own in-house advertising team, all without the help of any advertising agency. (Even Erin's hair color was voted on by employees). This online company aimed to stand out from the typical, boring auto insurance advertising, by creating a memorable ad campaign. The result was Erin Esurance.

The Esurance commercials follow the Esurance Girl on a number of animated adventures. Each commercial is uniquely-themed, and depicts Erin saving the day in a particular situation, including at an ice hockey game, a ball game, while surfing and skiing and even in the Wild Wild West. She has also starred in film-themed ads as well.

The choice of animation for the commercial was intended to make the advertising stand out from other car insurance TV commercials, and was much cheaper to produce than other commercials. The animation is done by two fellow San Francisco-based companies: W!LDBRAIN, an entertainment company and Ghostbot, an animation company. Flash animation software is used to execute the animation. Mo Mellady does Erin's voice.

Watch For The Messages

At first glance, these TV ads have seemingly little to do with auto insurance. However, a number of Esurance insurance features and benefits are cleverly worked into each commercial. For example, Erin's missions may have her fighting the odd time-wasting car insurance monster on one mission and preventing overpriced car insurance from taking over the world in another.

Erin's special agent title has a double-meaning – she is both an insurance agent and a spy. She works for the Esurance SIU, which stands for Special Investigations Unit. This is the department in any insurance company that is charged investigating fraudulent insurance claims.

Listen For The Message

With her “cover” as an insurance agent for Esurance, Erin is very well-placed to give us the low-down on auto insurance deals. As she goes about disposing of the bad guys, she takes the time to remind people about the great deals that are offered at Esurance.

Erin also lends a very able hand to fight save our environment. She regularly foils the evil environmental escapades of her archenemy Dr. Botanicus. She has similarly done battle with the villainous Dr. Dark and a giant tree-pulling robot. Erin also keeps us informed about Esurance’s environmental efforts, which include environmentally-friendly office practices, hybrid cars for its company fleet, and support for green causes.

Erin Becomes Famous

The Erin character has also appeared in a few animated shows, such as Space Ghost: Coast to Coast, the animated talk show comedy series. During the particular episode in which she made an appearance, Erin chatted about her adventures as a spy while Space Ghost seemed more preoccupied with her appearance.

The animated Erin TV commercials have gained renown, and the Esurance girl has since developed a growing fan base, especially on the Internet. She has fans writing about her latest exploits, and even sketching her likeness. In a recent ad, the design team animated an Esurance policyholder called Paul, who got to meet Erin.

In the TV commercials, Erin will often encounter a “mysterious stranger,” whose name is Erik. Erin never does get to uncover his true identity. Erik might be her spy handler, in charge of coordinating Erin’s various missions, and who must keep his identity secret for security purposes. Or, he may be one of the bad guys ... Erin just can't tell.

Staying In Touch

To keep her fans informed, Erin has a regular online blog called Erin's Secret Diary. It also details Esurance’s environmental policies and campaigns.