Barbara Willis

As MetLife prepares to demutualize and convert to a stock company , the insurer wants to make sure consumers are familiar with its history and its products , said Barbara Willis , MetLife's assistant vice president of advertising.

Snoopy and the Peanuts comic strip characters will continue to be showcased in MetLife's web site , literature and advertising , she said.The company chose to focus more on its history and products when research showed that MetLife was being looked at as Snoopy's company , Willis said.

We are using people in the advertising to connect MetLife with the past , present and future , she said.We want to expand people's knowledge of MetLife and show we have been in business for a long time..

Advertising Age columnist Bob Garfield--who says he'll go to his grave thinking using Snoopy in the first place was a rotten idea --questions moving Snoopy from the limelight.

The reason Snoopy was used was because of the public's perception of insurance as a distant , monolithic , soul-less industry ready to steal your money.Snoopy was one way to soften that image , Garfield said.
...
We want to show that we've been in business for a long time and tell our story , Willis said.Part of that story is how diverse we are.We sell a broad range of products to both individuals and businesses..

The new commercials will end with the signature Get Met.It Pays..Snoopy still makes an appearance , but has been reduced to an image on a computer screen and appears at the end of the commercials.
...
MetLife spends an average of $20 million annually on print ads and TV commercials , Willis said.

Business-to-Business

Fortis , the European-based global financial-services giant , launched a new brand image last year.

We believe the Snoopy ads help cut through the clutter, says Barbara Willis, assistant vice president/advertising at Met Life.

Most of our competitors spend two or three times what we do to advertise.The important thing for us is to present an image that is memorable and accessible..

Willis says many people are anxious or confused by insurance and investment choices and the use of the Peanuts characters makes potential customers feel more comfortable with Met Life and its salespeople.

Met Life spends about $ 28 million each year to advertise and, with $ 276 billion in assets under management, it is one of the largest U.S. insurers.

As MetLife prepares to demutualize and convert to a stock company, the insurer wants to make sure consumers are familiar with its history and its products, said Barbara Willis, MetLife's assistant vice president of advertising.

Snoopy and the Peanuts comic strip characters will continue to be showcased in MetLife's web site, literature and advertising, she said.The company chose to focus more on its history and products when research showed that MetLife was being looked at as "Snoopy's company," Willis said.

"We are using people in the advertising to connect MetLife with the past, present and future," she said.
...
"We want to show that we've been in business for a long time and tell our story," Willis said.
...
MetLife spends an average of $20 million annually on print ads and TV commercials, Willis said.