Donkey versus zebra: When insurance ads go haywire

When it comes to buying car insurance, there are only two kinds of people — the ones who compare and save, and the ones who don’t. In Policybazaar’s latest tongue-in-cheek ad campaign, actor-comedian Kapil Sharma makes sure you know exactly which one you are.

The brand rolled out two new ad films that are packed with Sharma’s signature wit and an important message. In one of them, he takes a playful dig at a zebra buying a car from the showroom, ‘Na na… galat samajh rahe hain aap. Ye Zebra nahin hai’ (No, no, you are mistaken, he is not a zebra).

And just when you wonder why, he drops the bomb — anyone who skips comparing on Policybazaar and ends up paying extra at the showroom is no Zebra, but a Gadha. The similar storyline unfolds in the other one where the Zebra gets his car insurance without comparing on Policybazaar and realises he’s a Gadha.

Samir Sethi, head—brand marketing at Policybazaar, said, “The ads are humorous but the pain of overpaying for something like your car insurance is very real. Whether your car is fresh out of the showroom or a few years old, buying without comparing your best options means you are paying more than you need to. The ads deliver a serious message in a relatable way - look before you leap and make smarter choices.”

Dheeraj Renganath and Natwar Singh, co-founders, MagicCircle, the creative agency, behind this campaign, said, “Buying car insurance without comparing and selecting the best option from PolicyBazaar, is definitely not a smart decision. So, for this campaign, we just had to imagine how Kapil Sharma would choose to say this in his trademark and inimitable style. This is how the ‘Zebra nahi Gadha’ idea was born. Of course, with such an interesting visual, we could be sure that the campaign would break the clutter as well.”

The campaign marks the latest step in Policybazaar’s effort to simplify insurance decisions with relatable, light-hearted storytelling. 

Campaign’s take: Policybazaar’s latest ad campaign wants you to compare car insurance—or risk being a 'Gadha' (donkey). Enter Kapil Sharma, master of punchlines and put-downs, declaring zebras who don’t compare policies are actually donkeys in disguise. Witty? Maybe. But smart? That’s up for debate.

While Sharma’s brand of sarcasm often scores on television, here it’s undercut by a troubling trope. Donkeys, far from being dim-witted dolts, are—according to a 2015 study by Faith Burden and Alexandra Thiemann—emotionally intelligent and cognitively capable. But adland continues to flog the tired cliché that they’re poster animals for stupidity.

And therein lies the irony.

A campaign that champions “smart choices” relies on a scientifically inaccurate stereotype to deliver the message. If ignorance is the target, is calling the consumer a donkey really the cleverest approach? Humour can indeed boost recall, but today’s audiences—particularly Gen Z and millennials—lean toward inclusive, clever storytelling that doesn’t punch down.

Marketing shouldn't need to pit one animal against another to make its point. Because when the ad ends up insulting a donkey's intelligence, it may well be the brand that looks like the... you guessed it. 

As for who's being the real smart arse? That depends on who’s comparing.

Credits:

• Dheeraj Renganath: Co-founder and CCO, MagicCircle
• Natwar Singh, co-founder and ECD, MagicCircle
• Gaurangi Mathur, group creative director, MagicCircle
• Account Management: Tanvi Kalra, Siddhant Dutta of MagicCircle
• Production House: Ksilent Productions
• Producer: KC Pandey
• Director: Amit Satyaveer Singh