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Guess who's back in town: It's E.T. Super Bowl fans will see Steven Spielberg's formerly homesick extraterrestrial in a much-hyped commercial for Progressive Auto Insurance. But it turns out that's only the beginning of the little guy's colonization of the ad world. ''E.T. has been in semiretirement,'' says Brad Globe, head of marketing at Amblin Entertainment, which licenses the character. ''But we think the time is right to do some new things.''
For instance, in partnership with the ''Buckle Up America'' campaign, Progressive has recruited E.T. to be the Ambassador for Driving Safety. Meanwhile, the insurance company has a multiyear deal to use E.T. in its ads, including a TV spot due later this month touting its new Internet site. And Globe adds that another major advertiser will soon be announced, this one to relaunch the character in Europe.
Not that getting the little guy back on the screen was easy. The rubber on the E.T.'s used in the 1982 movie has nearly disintegrated, so Universal loaned Progressive a shipment of animatronics created for its theme park in Japan. And to protect E.T.'s renown, the film's cinematographer, Allen Daviau, and Industrial Light & Magic were enlisted for the TV spots.
But all of this fuss raises a question: Is E.T. selling out? Dave Studeman, a managing director at Landor Associates, a branding and identity consulting firm, says E.T. has great selling potential. ''But if you license E.T. to products that don't share his values, you risk undermining the appeal,'' says Studeman. ''Auto insurance is stretching it.'' But Amblin is aware of the danger. ''We're not doing knickknacks,'' Globe insists, saying products will have to ''promote something positive.'' As E.T. would advise, ''Beeee Gooood.''
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