Blog #5 Allstate Mayhem... The Cat

 Mayhem The Cat

Allstate’s Mayhem Cat commercial starts with the actor known better as “Mayhem” lying beside a woman, acting like a cat as he plays with a small toy. Our actress is glued to her cell phone as mayhem begins his monologue. 

“I’m your cat, and ever since you brought me home that day. Well, I’ve been plotting to destroy you.” 

The following clips are of mayhem doing cat-like behaviors, smacking a handout of his face, dropping dead mice on his owner’s face, and drinking water from a silk facet. Mayhem smacks the sink on and allows it to overpour as he sips it gently. The next time we see either of the owners, the female one is being entertained by mayhem as he rides a self-vacuuming robot, and she records him. The next scene reverts to Mayhem lying next to the woman as she scrolls on her phone, completely unaware that the sink upstairs has been left running this entire time. The roof collapses from water damage, and both actors come together in confusion. Mayhem mentions having home insurance coverage for the first time to prevent having to pay cash for incidents like this. The commercial ends with Mayhem throwing over a lit candle and saying, 

“So get Allstate and be better protected from Mayhem, like meow.” 

The final scene is Allstate’s logo and slogan, “Are you in good hands?”

The author of this ad wants the audience to be immediately drawn to the commercial, using stereotypical and laughable cat behaviors. While most cat behavior stereotypes are correct, seeing a grown man act like a cat becomes more laughable. The author of this ad wants us to understand that although things seem comical at first, actions we were once giggling at can have real consequences. We notice throughout the commercial that the leading female actress is glued to her phone; even when interacting with the “cat,” she only sees so much of what the “cat” is doing. Societal norms have allowed us to be glued to our phones. This advertisement shows normality in most aspects; even the actors chosen to portray these characters are not famous celebrities or living in extravagant homes. As pet owners, our biggest concern is that our pets will affect our living arrangements. We tend to think about how our dogs may have accidents on our carpets and how messy the cat litter might get, but we never honestly think about how extreme our pets may be. This commercial depicts those horrors that seem extremely plausible now. The target audience for this commercial is not directly towards anyone. Instead, this scenario can be applied to many people watching this commercial.