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 AFLAC
Duck - The persistent white spokes-bird for the AFLAC
Insurance Company that appeared in a series of humorous commercials
debuting in January 2000. The AFLAC duck's trademark catchphrase is
"AFLAC!" The nameless bird's mission is to remind people of the
company's name.
In one commercial, the duck wanders into the bedroom
of two people contemplating starting a family and ends up in between
the couple with its orange-webbed feet protruding from under the
covers.
In another spot, the bird pursues an airline passenger and
appears outside of the plane's window shouting "AFLAC!" as a
passengers looks out the tiny portal.
In these two cases and
additional spots, after the duck screams "AFLAC!" the narrator says,
"AFLAC. Without it, no insurance is complete."
The AFLAC duck (voice provided by comedian Gilbert
Gottfried) is the corporate advertising symbol for the AMERICAN
FAMILY LIFE ASSURANCE COMPANY OF COLUMBUS (AFLAC), a leading
provider of supplemental insurance sold at the worksite in the
United States and the largest foreign insurer in Japan.
Insuring more than 40 million people worldwide,
AFLAC is the principal subsidiary of AFLAC Incorporated, an
international holding company based in Georgia.
Fortune magazine named AFLAC to its list of
"The 100 Best Companies to Work for in America" for the third
consecutive year in January 2001.
The AFLAC TV campaign was created
by the Kaplan Thaler Group of New York while the duck used in the
spots was designed by the Stan Winston Studio, a California special
effects firm.
TRIVIA NOTE: In March of 2011, Gilbert Gotfried was fired as the voice of the AFLAC duck after making what some considered ill-advised jokes about the earthquake/Tsunami disaster in Japan. Soon after AFLAC ran a commercial mascot in a silent movie (a re-edit of a 2006 ad) where the duck gets hit by the train. The last frame of the "damsel tied to a railroad track" inspired ad spot reads: "Be the next voice. Go to Aflac duck on Facebook."
In April of 2011 AFLAC announced their new voice was Dan McKeague of Hugo, Minnesota, a clean-cut 36-year-old father of three. He beat out some 12,500 applicants for the job. The first new commercial featured a 30-second spot as the AFLAC duck breakdanced in competition with a pigeon.
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