The Old Dependable Is Depended Upon Once Again A NEW campaign for New York Life, from its new creative agency, expresses an idea that is tried and true. What, you were expecting maybe new? The television, print, digital and outdoor campaign, now under way, carries the theme "Keep good going," which is meant to extol the virtues of buying life insurance and other financial products from the New York Life Insurance Company. The budget is estimated at $20 million through the end of the year. The print advertisements that are part of the campaign detail the premise: "Consider all the good you do in your life. And all those it touches, supports and inspires. At New York Life, everything we do is to help you continue that good. The concept is brought to life through pithy sayings that are numbered as if part of an altruistic bucket list. For instance, No. 8 is "Be there for the ones who are there for you;" No. 17 is "If you love someone, act on it;" No. 27 is "Be the man your dog thinks you are;" No. 54 is "Simple actions often speak the loudest;" and No. 79 is "You're always a role model to somebody." The "Pay it forward" intimations of "Keep good going" are reminiscent of other recent campaigns, among them one for Delta Air Lines, which carried the theme "Good goes around," and one for another insurer, Liberty Mutual, which since 2006 has carried the theme "Responsibility. What's your policy. Executives at New York Life and Euro RSCG New York, which replaced the New York office of Taxi as the insurer's creative agency in December, call the new theme a better presentation of a thought that had been at the center of the ads created by Taxi New York, which described the purchase of a life insurance policy from New York Life as "a selfless gift for your family." "Keep good going," the executives say, is the distillation of a new brand positioning for New York Life called "For good," which was developed with Landor Associates, the corporate and brand identity agency that is part of the Young & Rubicam Group division of WPP. "Our category as a whole has a tough time connecting with consumers," said Liz McCarthy, senior vice president for corporate communications at New York Life, invoking "an adage in our business" that life insurance "is sold, and not bought." Then, too, "there's the other challenge," she added, that life insurance is "frequently a "one and done" purchase, not top of mind." The "selfless gift" campaign was "the first time we talked with consumers about them instead of about us," she said, which began to "make a much stronger connection" with potential customers. The new approach is also more appropriate for a time when "people are looking for goodness in the world around them," Ms. McCarthy said, because of the dislocations from the financial crisis that still affect families. The focus on goodness will assist the campaign in reaching a target audience she referred to as "practical optimists": consumers who are interested in, or already have, life insurance. Asked about the Liberty Mutual campaign, which in July added a second theme, "When things are at their worst, we are at our best," to the "Responsibility" theme, Ms. McCarthy said: "Certainly, within our category, it's probably the closest to our positioning. We're aiming a little broader. Another difference is that the Liberty Mutual ads have celebrated random acts of kindness that are paid forward in a continuous, virtuous circle, while the New York Life ads are about taking care of family members. The commercials that are part of the New York Life campaign are somewhat more emotional than the print ads. One commercial begins with: "I always thought I would have a son who loved to play ball. Turns out, it was my daughter. As the daughter's accomplishments on the diamond are chronicled in photos and video clips, these words appear: "She got her mother's looks and my fastball. Thankfully, it wasn't the other way around. The spot ends with life lesson No. 22, "Pave the way for the greatness of others." In another commercial, as a video plays of an elderly man speaking, words on screen describe how someone, presumably a grandson or granddaughter, taped him talking about "God, women, money, art and family." "He passed six months later," words on screen declare, followed by life lesson No. 64, "Pass down more than your name." The idea "feels like such a bigger thing than telling people, "Go buy life insurance," " said Lee Garfinkel, co-chairman at Euro RSCG New York and chief creative officer for global brands at Euro RSCG Worldwide, part of the Havas Worldwide division of Havas. The use of "life lessons is a way to get the sales message across in a way that's more relatable," he added, although it can be a tricky task to "do emotional advertising that's not maudlin." Contrasting New York Life with Liberty Mutual, Mr. Garfinkel said the New York Life campaign is "not necessarily about the greater good of society" but rather "about perpetuating the good in your life, changing the world you have control over, your family." According to Kantar Media, a unit of WPP, New York Life spent $80.3 million on advertising last year, $71.1 million in 2010, $69.8 million in 2009 and $58.7 million in 2008.