Even Apeldoorn bellen! (just call Apeldoorn!) This slogan from the company Centraal Beheer Achmea spread through the Netherlands very quicklyafter its introduction in 1986. The campaign ads always had it in them. They were funny and memorable. One that I can remember very well was one where a family was on safari, and while they were among the wild, a lion climbs on the car. But the family members don’t notice, because they start singing the Lion King song. People shout and try to warn them, but they sing too loud and just go home. The lion stays put, and enjoys the ride all the way through. He even ducks his impressive head for the garage door. Here is that TV spot:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K2eQDlD-fr8

Even Apeldoorn bellen! (Image by macinate at Flickr.com)

Why should you call Apeldoorn then? Centraal Beheer Achmea is a verzekeringsmaatschappij (insurance company), that tries to tell you it will help when you are in such a situation… Whether they do or don’t does not matter for the slogan – it definitely turned into a classic! To remind you to call them, in 1992, the company even put a huge phone in the front yard of their main office building in – you guessed it – Apeldoorn. It was removed in 2012.

The clue is that you can say this to anyone who is in very unfortunate trouble that he or she needs help with. Like a lion that slips into your house unnoticed. The spots went so viral that everybody knows about them. Or should. The bad part for the company: not everybody can make the connection between calling Apeldoorn and Centraal Beheer Achmea. It seems like it is true what a recent study held: funny TV spots make the company advertised for less memorable, because the humor distracts from the real product. And I must admit: a lion atop a car is quite stretched for an insurance based in a country where lions only appear in zoos and circuses!