Entry #5 Cat Mayhem

 


The creatures of this commercial are targeting anybody that has ever owned a cat or has ever known anyone who had a cat. Every action that mayhem does is re-enacting what cats stereotypically do. Chances are that most people who watch this can relate to more than one of the actions by mayhem. The creatures do a great job of making these bad behaviors funny. The re-enactments are meant to make the viewer laugh a little. This will stick in the viewer’s head and they will want to share the funny moment with someone so they have someone to laugh with, thus spreading the commercial for the company (free advertising). 

Each incident that mayhem is involved in gets progressively worse, up to and including the ceiling falling down because of the water left on in the sink on the floor above. Allstate most likely pulls from real incidents where they’ve actually paid out insurance claims. The deadpan personality of mayhem plays into the comedy of the ad as well. Mayhem is even wearing a collar with a name tag. 

In the very beginning, mayhem tells the viewer who he is so they can frame all subsequent scenes from that perspective. Then, every clip of mayhem from then on out seems to build on each other. It also takes ordinary, day to day activities and turns them into worst case scenarios for cat owners. Ending with mayhem spitting out feathers. By the end, the viewer is fully immersed in the cat re-enactments and will most likely think of a few more that the ad could’ve used. 

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