"August 4, 2003
BY LEWIS LAZARE - CHICAGO SUN TIMES COLUMNIST
Lew's view: B+

PRODUCTION CREDITS
Client: Allstate
Agency: Leo Burnett
Executive creative director: Jonathan Hoffman
Creative directors: Jeanie Caggiano and Michael Valenti
Copywriter: Ron D'Innocenzo
Art director: Aaron Noffsinger
Producer: Veronica Puc
Director: Steve Miller
Editor: Jan Maitland
'Chess' a very good new spot in Allstate campaign
It's always nice when a campaign we liked at the start stays likeable
as new executions are rolled out. That, we're happy to report, is what
has happened with Allstate's unique tabletop theater campaign, which
uses all manner of found objects to make the case for Allstate as a
preferred insurer and financial services provider.
"Chess," the newest execution in the ongoing campaign from Leo
Burnett, is as fresh and clever as any we have seen. As you might have
guessed already, the spot plays out on a chess board, where the king
is immediately introduced as the all-important Allstate customer and
the various other chess pieces stand in for the many Allstate
professionals--some 50,000, we're told--who can assistant a customer
by providing claims adjustments, emergency assistance or legal
counsel, among other things.
Aside from the clever concept itself, "Chess" sparkles thanks to Ron
D'Innocenzo's talent for delivering copy with just the right light
touch. Not too light, though, and certainly not too ponderous. When
the King chess piece is presented, for instance, D'Innocenzo throws in
a "Yea, you're the king" line as the all-important and always visible
hands that move the chess pieces underscore that fun interjection with
a bit of bow and scrape choreography.
In fact, as has been the case in every tabletop theater commercial so
far, the hands in "Chess" manage to turn in a performance every bit as
riveting as that of any actor who might appear on screen in in his or
her entirety. "