Sonnet Insurance has premiered the third season of its campaign with the NHL Players’ Association, this time featuring stars from the Toronto Maple Leafs and Montreal Canadiens.
The campaign, titled “Breakthroughs,” and features fictitious scientific and technological advancements that empower real-life hockey stars William Nylander, Jason Spezza, David Savard and Jonathan Drouin. The stars are joined by NHL alumni Doug Gilmour and Mario Tremblay. The spots are being released in two waves, with the first – featuring new “explosive stick” technology – already in market.
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“This year, we evolved our existing brand to speak more to the idea of ‘breakthroughs’ and the breakthrough Sonnet represents in the insurance space,” says Brian Long, the insurer’s VP of marketing. “That has extended over now into our NHLPA campaign with breakthroughs that aren’t true to life, but there’s a lot of fun there.”
The playful tone adopted by the commercials reflects an important part of the brand’s personality, Long says.
“We want to be lighthearted and bring fun to the insurance space,” he explains. “The Sonnet brand is serious about insurance – but we can have fun at the same time.”
The campaign is a refresh of last year’s effort, which compared stars of the modern hockey game with veterans of the past in an equally playful spot, likening the old-school methods players used to curve their sticks compared to the way Sonnet’s digital-focused way of helping Canadians find the right insurance coverage has evolved the insurance industry.
“This campaign isn’t just about hockey, it’s about the players themselves,” Long says of partnering with the NHLPA. “The players really bring the league to life. Without them, you don’t get the full effect of what hockey is really all about.”
As with the past campaigns, Whitney Creative handled the creative development and execution. The campaign will run through the end of the NHL season.
