Supplemental health insurance provider Aflac pits its famous spokesduck against the ‘Gap Goat’, which represents the medical debt left over when health insurance fails to cover medical expenses completely.

This college football season, Aflac’s unforgettable spokesduck encounters a new nemesis – the ‘Gap Goat’ – and all the medical debt he represents.

The supplemental health insurance provider Aflac will air a trio of slapstick-rich spots that introduce the Gap Goat and the gap between health insurance and medical bills.

In the campaign’s first spot, ‘The Arrival’, the Aflac Duck joins The University of Alabama’s head coach, Nick Saban, for a game of chess, when their game is interrupted by the never-before-seen Gap Goat.

The two animals promptly enter a screaming match as the goat bleats “Gap” and the duck quacks “Aflac“. Once Nick Saban and Jackson State’s coach Deion Sanders decode the altercation, we learn that the Gap Goat is the Aflac Duck’s ultimate foil character: he embodies the unexpected medical bills that health insurance fails to cover.

“While the Aflac Duck remains a household name, the Gap Goat presents new marketing opportunities to build a story that leverages both humor and purpose to help educate fans on the gaps for those facing medical debt,” said Aflac US president Teresa White in a statement.

Both coaches have worked on past campaigns with Aflac. “Nick Saban and Deion ‘Coach Prime’ Sanders are considered two of the greatest of all time at what they do,” said Garth Knutson, vice-president of brand at Aflac. “Going into our fourth season with Coach Saban and second season with Coach Prime, we saw an opportunity to turn the ‘goat’ moniker into a new personality to educate fans on the gap that can exist with their insurance.

“We always look for ways to interject humor into our campaigns and believe that fans will enjoy the dynamic between the Aflac Duck and Gap Goat, who will help us educate them on how Aflac can help them be better prepared for unexpected medical expenses.”

The ’Aflac Duck versus Gap Goat’ campaign will run across linear, streaming TV, digital, social and audio platforms. The series will open on ESPN on August 27 with ‘The Arrival’, while ‘Stadium Worker’ will air on October 15 and the third, ‘Treadmill Race’, on October 29.

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