Progressive Insurance Has The Field Covered With Mayfield, Mark & Marcus
Monday, September 14, 2020 at 11:02PM By Barry Janoff
September 14, 2020: Progressive Insurance is not an official partner with the NFL, but the company makes its appear as if they are with a pair of football-themed campaigns.
Last year, Progressive — whose best-know spokesperson is Flo (Stephanie Courtney) — ran a series of spots featuring Baker Mayfield, quarterback of the Cleveland Browns, under the umbrella theme, “At Home With Baker Mayfield.”
They featured Mayfield and his wife Emily humorously trying to deal with the challenges of “living” in FirstEnergy Stadium.
Mayfield has returned for "Baker And Emily Mayfield: Season 2," occupying the stadium, facing the obstacles and joys of most home owners, although magnified as he resides in a place that covers 31 acres of land and can accommodate more than 67,000 people.
This year, Progressive is adding a separate football campaign, “Sticking Together,” starring Mark and Marcus, two faux football officials who, as part of a sideline chain crew, are always dressed as referees and who each feel obliged to constantly hold one end of a yard-marker, meaning that they are never more than ten yards apart.
“Introducing Mark & Marcus,” Progressive proclaims in an intro spot. “Whatever life throws at them, they measure it.”
“People always ask us, 'What’s it like in the day of a yard-marker?’ It’s not glamorous. Our motto: No yard left behind . . . unless there’s a penalty. it’s not that hard always working together. We always try to give ourselves a little space — about 30 feet.”
According to Marcus, “I actually have no interest in football. I just like measuring. Not only are yards the vest form of all measurements, they are the king of all measurements. My height is .23459 yards. It’s not complicated.”
Which, actually, it is for Marcus, since he would be only 8.4 inches tall and appears to be closer to be 1.97 yards tall.
In another scenario, they prepare for a road trip, with Marcus saying, “We have two million yards of highway ahead of us” — about 1,136.3636 miles — which, again, is probably not what he meant.
In, “Sticking Together: Parking,” Mark and Marcus try to parallel park a car, with one behind the wheel and the other directing from the sidewalk, with the yard-marker chain causing an added obstacle.
“Sticking Together: Shower” finds Mark and Marcus taking turns showering, with one in the bathroom and the other outside the door, with the chain marking their distance. “I hope you didn’t use my shampoo,” Mark says to Marcus.
Tag line for Mark & Marcus, which along with the Mayfield campaign will have more spots throughout the season: Progressive — Protecting every single yard of your home and auto.