And so back to Verisure, those purveyors of annoying TV ads. First they used a group of friends discussing home security to put the frighteners on one of them so he rushed off and signed up. Next they got “cheeky” Irish TV host Angela Scanlon to take the piss out of a bloke with special needs. Now they are ratcheting it up with a new(ish) campaign by Monks that claims to feature real phone calls to the Verisure team to scare the living daylights out of you.
Or, as Verisure likes to say: “In this new series, we share genuine emergency calls made to Verisure – moments where quick action and calm expertise made all the difference. Each story captures what really happens when customers need help most, and how Verisure’s dedicated team responds within seconds.”
Here’s how it goes:
The ad opens as the camera zooms in on a dark and somewhat ominous rear view of a rather plush house in a rather plush London suburb as onscreen text states: “Based on true events. Crouch End, Sunday 8:54pm.” Tiny text at the bottom states: “Geographical restrictions apply.”
“Reasuring” Voiceover 1: “Hello, it’s Matt from Verisure. You pressed the SOS button.”
“Petrified” Voiceover 2: “Yeah, my phone’s died and there’s someone in the garden. It’s just me and my daughter here and we need help.”
Voiceover 1: “Right, the camera is showing someone near the back door. Listen, check everything’s locked, we’ve alerted the police.”
Voiceover 2: “Quick as you can please.”
Voiceover 1: “I understand, I’ll stay with you ’til they arrive.”
Voiceover 2: “Thanks”
Voiceover 1: “Now just try to stay calm.”
Onscreen text: “Family unharmed, intruder fled. In 2024, we intervened in 4,436 emergencies in the UK. Verisure. Be safer. Be sure.” Tiny text states something like: “Response within 45 seconds, either human or electronic.”
So, just a few things to note:
– Burglars very rarely enter houses when someone is in and even the most basic outside security light (probably about £20 from any DIY retailer) would have put this bloke off anyway…or even by turning on a few houselights.
– Nearly all home insurance policies insist on strong window and door locks, and if you live in a plush house in plush Crouch End, surely you wouldn’t scrimp on those anyway.
– Verisure didn’t actually do anything, apart from call the police, which the caller could have done simply by plugging in his own phone.
– The police never come to a ongoing break-in anyway, they simply don’t have the manpower. In fact, you are lucky if they turn up after a few days.
So, what is the consensus around the Decision Marketing office?
Well, it seems this lot will stop at nothing to get you to sign up, in fact we’re surprised they haven’t used a little old lady crying yet, but hey, that’s probably coming soon.
As we have said before, naturally, we would not expect anything different from Verisure but, come on Monks, is this really the best you can offer?
Decision Marketing Adometer: A ‘we wouldn’t touch them with a barge pole’ 2 out of 10
