“This is great for a business that is 16 years old. The first quarter is traditionally a good quarter, but the wallets must have had something to do with it,” says head of Marketing for OUTsurance, Peter Cronjé.

Campaign conceptualiser and producer, AIR Films, and top CGI animation studio, Luma, were asked to create a second trio of animated personas, each portraying a different consumer group. These personas represent the day-to-day struggle to save money of many South Africans. The rollout of the second round of the ‘Talking Wallets’ campaign is well supported by radio, print and billboards.

The campaign’s call to action is for car-insurance policyholders to call OUTsurance for a quick quote on their vehicle insurance. If OUTsurance is unable to beat the caller’s current premium, they will give the caller R400.

“Our challenge in round two was to capture the interest of a broader range of consumers, so in these three commercials, we appeal to different groups. The second trio of commercials sees the wallets of a psychologist’s patient, a woman in a salon, and a mechanic do the talking,” says Matthys Boshoff, director of AIR Films.

Flighting across all major TV channels, including DStv, e.tv, and SABC1, 2 and 3 from mid July, the trio of commercials focus on people who tend to procrastinate, people who feel the brunt of rising motoring costs, and older people who are reluctant to change their insurance even if they could get a better rate.

“The premise of this campaign is that no matter who we are, most of us struggle to tackle our insurance needs effectively. This may be because we simply don’t know how to, or because we don’t know there is a less expensive insurance option,” comments Boshoff.

Bryn Puchert of OUTsurance, and Boshoff further developed the original campaign concept. The production team’s on-the-ground producer was Marge Hughes. Within three months, the three new talking wallets had been created. Under Luma’s CG Super & Project Lead, Paul Meyer, and with Allan Cameron as character designer and Martin Sen as animation lead, the three animated wallets were brought to life by a 15-member team. Lorens Person of Sterling Sound recorded and mixed voice-overs, music and effects.

The team consisted of: (for AIR Films) Matthys Boshoff - director and concept origination; and Marge Hughes - producer and (for Luma) Paul Meyer - CG Super and Project Lead; Allan Cameron - character design; conceptualisation and storyboard; Martin Sen - animation lead and supervision; modelling and texturing; Tim Morar - animation; Mark Zimmer – animation, lighting and rendering; Anthanase Georgellis - modelling and texturing; Werner Ziemerink – modelling, texturing and rigging; Chris Wieffering - edits and pre-comps; Ndumiso Nyoni - edits; pre-comps and final composite; Greg Green - edits; pre-comps and final composite; Thezi Ndhlazi - physics simulation and camera tracking; Erik Kruger - on set VFX supervisor and camera tracking; and Nono Mofokeng - production.

Cronjé, says, “I think many of us simply struggle with making decisions about insurance, and are perhaps somewhat apathetic. We don’t know when, where and how we should tackle these issues. That’s why we, as a business, spend a significant amount each month on not only keeping our brand top-of-mind, but on developing a brand that people can relate to: one that both captures the issues at hand and allows consumers to make great savings.”