ACKO Life has introduced a new creative roadmap aimed at addressing what it describes as an ‘identity crisis’ in the life insurance category. Moving away from bundling protection with investment, the company is adopting a ‘Pure-Play’ philosophy, positioning itself around the refusal to mix protection with other financial components.
The move responds to what the company sees as a gap between being insured and being adequately protected, with life cover diluted in bundled products. The philosophy was introduced through a long-form newspaper print manifesto intended to encourage closer reading. The text-led advertisement outlines what the company calls the shortcomings of 'mixed' insurance products and questions the ‘money-back’ model, arguing that life insurance should function primarily as protection.
The campaign also includes two films, ‘Lionish’ and ‘Dogow’, which use hybrid animal characters — a lion-fish and a dog-cow — to question the use of combined insurance-investment products. The films suggest that products designed as compromises may not fully serve either purpose, comparing them to creatures that are not suited to a single environment.
"Mixing insurance with investment is a disservice to the customer; it creates a product that performs neither job well, leaving families with mediocre returns and dangerously thin protection," said Ashish Mishra, CMO, ACKO. "We wanted our creative execution to land this absurdity. By using metaphors like 'Lionish' and 'Dogow,' we’ve illustrated the needless complexity that the industry has normalized. Our work isn't about traditional category-building; it’s about 'unmixing' the consumer’s expectations to help them choose right, restoring life insurance to its original, uncompromising purpose: absolute financial certainty."
Under the 'Unmixed' philosophy, ACKO Life positions life insurance as separate from investment products such as mutual funds. The company states that it aims to offer protection without additional features or clauses that combine insurance with wealth-building tools.
