Superscript is an insure-tech challenging how businesses insure themselves, with self serve, brokerage and web3 capability. The old name, Digital Risks, wasn’t right since it led with risk and fear, and lent too much on digital. 

I pitched for the rebranding project, before running a fast but diligent 8-week naming process, arriving at the new name, borrowed from the typographical world. Taken literally we get ‘raise up’ and ‘to show importance’. A sense of raising standards, too.

The identity includes a library of 160+ bespoke images of objects in a tone-on-tone style. These are used to relate to themes literally or laterally, on projects and ads, building cost effective familiarity across media. We also created simple graphic forms inspired by data visualisation, using a two-tone style reminiscent of the images. For web3, these are animations that are free and transient, while the brokerage has diagram-like illustrations.

I led the creative on four national ad campaigns. In 2020 I was commissioned to deliver the first, including concept, copy, art direction and radio scripts.

The first campaign was inspired by confirmatory moments for a business, times of harmony when things seem to fall into place. Ultra-short headlines hint at a story revealed in long copy. The strange davidjt84 is later understood to be a username in a story of the first 5-star review a business receives. Freelnacer, at first look a typo, leads to a tale about everything being triple-checked on a job submitted by a freelance writer. Like the object images, advertising art direction shows harmony between figure and scene, adding to a sense of things being well-matched.

2021’s campaign presents the idea that, in insurance and life, amounts matter. Quantity-related terms ish, smidge, bit much, are employed as headlines, and altered objects form a visual punchline. A handmade jumper with one long arm, a tape measure with disordered numbers, and a spoonful of English mustard dangerously heaped.

The 2022 campaign highlighted things that the industry is infamous for, with cryptically related images. Parrot/where you have a say, Dinosaur/for a modern world, Egg yolk/only get what you need. In 2023 we focussed on value. The sign off right on the money emphasises being ‘right’ when it comes to money.

Headlines play with phrases to gain a new meaning. Full of surprises has a ‘no’ dropped in to instead mean fairness, while the casual more or less perfect, with punctuation added, becomes a line about customisation.

Day to day ads continued the tone for targetted campaigns, and partnerships with ESPN led to content and campaigns centred around cricket, a sport that over-indexes with finance leads.

Copy: Letterhead, Mike Scott, Vince Borgerding
Photography: Michele Panzeri
Videography: Reuben+Jamie
Motion & animation: Reuben+Jamie
Casting: Masha Gribova & Mike Scott
Wardrobe: Masha Gribova & Mike Scott
Make-up: Konnie Daniel, Anna Gibson
Design support: Matt Reid, Marie McDermott
Concept, design & art direction: Mike Scott
Campaign manager: Masha Gribova
CMO: Mai Fenton
Agencies: Disney/ESPN