Mass Mutual has launched the fourth iteration of its annual “Dynamic Duos” campaign, continuing a long-standing partnership with the National Hockey League (NHL) and NHL Players’ Association (NHLPA) established in 2019. Developed by 72andSunny New York, the campaign features prominent NHL teammates, and debuted on April 18th alongside the start of the Stanley Cup Playoffs.
While previous iterations focused primarily on life insurance, the current campaign introduces expanded messaging designed to highlight the depth of MassMutual’s financial solutions, including wealth management, protection, and holistic financial planning.
Here’s what iSpot’s Creative Assessment platform revealed on actual viewer response to the spots among high-income Americans ($100K+).
The Details:
- Although both the :30 “Play by Play” and the :15 “Third Person” outpaced one-year investment advertising norms across the $100K+ high-income American audience, the :30 outperformed the shorter spot across nearly all dimensions:
- “Play by Play for Your Next Move” posted an overall response (Ace Score) of +62 pts above the investment category norm, while “Third Person” came in at +46 pts above norm.
- “Play by Play” :30 demonstrated exceptional breakthrough ability but both ads achieved success in this area (and in Watchability )—the combination of Attention and Likeability that signals an ad is stopping viewers and holding them.
- The NHL athletes (characters at 15% for the :30) and visual scenes (18%) were the top Single Best Thing elements for both spots, cementing the appeal of the 2026 “Dynamic Duo” and the creative imagery in landing with viewers.
- Change, Relevance, and Information delivery registered over benchmark for both spots as well, but the :30 often at about double the rate of the :15. For an investment brand competing on trust and product clarity, this gap matters.
- “Play by Play for Your Next Move” posted an overall response (Ace Score) of +62 pts above the investment category norm, while “Third Person” came in at +46 pts above norm.
- A shared weakness among non-sports viewers confirms that neither execution is built for general entertainment placements:
- However, the campaign shows promise for media flexibility across sports programming with positive resonance seen among viewers of most pro and college sports.
- The :30 better resonated with NHL followers specifically.
- However, the campaign shows promise for media flexibility across sports programming with positive resonance seen among viewers of most pro and college sports.
- Although the longer length did not spark higher Top 2 Box purchase/visit intent among high-income Americans (both at 37%/38% consideration to meet investment norms), it did better cement the Mass Mutual brand name by a significant amount:
- As such, allocating more budget to the :30 is likely still worth the investment given both awareness and consideration objectives for the campaign.
- Young men were the primary power audience for “Play by Play for Your Next Move” :30. Males 18-35 scored +124 pts over the segment norm, with men under 50 a strong audience for the :15. The hockey/game-table creative device was a direct line to this audience (and younger women):
- Viewer sentiment on the :30 “Play by Play” suggests that the differentiated, casual approach worked well in connecting with high-income viewers. This tone felt less corporate and far more relatable.
- However, a substantial portion of viewers struggled to understand the connection between the table hockey game setting and financial services. This would be a key prohibitor of driving higher intent. Strengthening the verbal bridge between the game strategy and financial planning strategy could be considered here or adding visual cues that better connect the activity to the service.
- Comprehension might have also suffered a bit due to difficulty some expressed in understanding the main speaker due to accent/dialogue clarity.
- Of course, for hockey fans and those with nostalgia for table hockey, the ad resonated strongly.
- Viewer sentiment on the :30 “Play by Play” suggests that the differentiated, casual approach worked well in connecting with high-income viewers. This tone felt less corporate and far more relatable.
Sample comments among high-income viewers on the :30 “Play by Play for Your Next Move”
“What did it have to do with Mass Mutual? So confused.”
Female 50+
“Mass Mutual helps you plan your finances better.”
Male 36-49
“Did not understand what playing a hockey game had to do with Mass Mutual Company.”
Male 50+
“It gave me major nostalgia vibes, you know? Seeing those guys in the bar playing games felt really down to earth and relatable, not like a boring sales pitch.”
Female 18-35
“It did a good job of taking a subject that some people might find boring and making it more interesting. Also, it did a good job of explaining the benefits of using the company.”
Male 36-49
“I’m confused about what the scenes of two guys playing table hockey have to do with an insurance company. The one guy brought up Mass Mutual suddenly with no context.”
Female 18-35
“I’m sorry. But was that English? I couldn’t make out but two of the words that were spoken.”
Female 36-49
“I was excited when I saw the guys playing hockey, but lost interest when I realized it was about financial services.”
Male 50+
“I think it was decent. Not sure how table hockey is relevant, but it caught my eye.”
Male 36-49
“I was confused. The initial draw was the hockey game, but then the conversation went towards insurance. It was like a left turn of why?”
Female 50+
“I thought it was really clever and attention grabbing.”
Male 18-35
“I like that it is a sponsor of the NHL and uses the hockey game, and I can only assume those are pro hockey players. It is just hard to understand the main speaker.”
Male 36-49
“The commercial was not that exciting to me. It took a long time to get to the name of the company.”
Female 36-49
“I guess I just felt a bit confused. The visuals were cool and all, but I am not sure what message they were actually trying to send with that scene.”
Female 18-35
- Both investment spots resonated far more positively among those with over $100K in investable assets available:
- Our iSpot media measurement reports a stronger favoring of the “Autograph” narrative spots in national linear and streaming Impressions through 4/28/26:
- The “Autograph” creatives (favored in media placements so far) outperformed “Play by Play” among gen pop viewers in driving consideration, suggesting the :15 be employed for broad reach to drive outcomes:
- “Play by Play” better resonated with high-income viewers.
Ineffective creative, even if delivered to the right audience, results in missed opportunity and performance shortfalls. Great creative delivered poorly also results in failed campaigns.
Schedule a demo to find out how your brand can partner with iSpot to quickly solve both challenges simultaneously, delivering high-performing creative while boosting the effectiveness of planning and in-market execution to achieve—and outperform—campaign objectives.
Creative Agency: Footsteps, LLC