The days of gazing upward to the skies at a football game to see Snoopy’s face gliding by on a blimp will soon be over, as MetLife has announced it’s cutting ties with the cartoon pooch and the rest of the Peanuts gang after more than 30 years together.
MetLife is moving on, you see, with a new global brand that doesn’t have room for the cartoon characters, as it’s planning to spin off most of its U.S. life insurance business in 2017.
“We brought in Snoopy over 30 years ago to make our company more friendly and approachable during a time when insurance companies were seen as cold and distant. Snoopy helped drive our business and served an important role at the time,” Esther Lee, MetLife’s global chief marketing officer, said in a statement.
That being said, MetLife has “great respect” for Charlie Brown and his pals, but the company’s focus has simply shifted.
“We have great respect for these iconic characters,” Lee said. “However, as we focus on our future, it’s important that we associate our brand directly with the work we do and the partnership we have with our customers.”
Instead of Snoopy-festooned blimps, the company’s branding will feature blue and green shapes merging “in a symbol of partnership to form an M for MetLife,” the company says.
In fact, there won’t be any MetLife blimps, period: the company is phasing out its use of the aerial vehicles in the skies above sporting events.
by Mary Beth Quirk via Consumerist
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