A few years ago, Nationwide came up with an interesting insight – financial services is boring, so why not produce ads that make us laugh? The result was a run of spots starring Mark Benton as an annoying bank manager.

Nationwide has left the strategy behind – which suggests that it may not have worked as well as the brand wanted (either that or the joke ran its course). But the notion that financial services and humour go together has stuck. Barclays, for example, has used Office star Stephen Merchant for TV voiceovers while Aviva has employed Paul Whitehouse to promote insurance.

The latest company to join the fray is Direct Line, which has just unveiled a series of ads featuring comic actor Chris Addison (The Thick Of It) as an insurance rep.

In this campaign, Direct Line doesn”t stop with one comedian. Instead, Addison is cast alongside three guest actors (Alexander Armstrong, Amelia Bulmore and Lorna Watson), who play customers in three separate spots.

Explaining the rationale for the campaign, Kerry Chilvers, Direct Line marketing director, said: “Our new creative gives Direct Line a human face after featuring our animated characters over the past couple of years. The new advertising introduces a real world environment where we can dramatise different products, while positioning Direct Line as the straightforward insurer.”