The Aflac CEO Who Ruffled Feathers With His Duck Ads
Dan Amos, who has led the supplemental-insurance provider since 1990, says board members were ‘a nervous wreck’ before its iconic campaign debuted
Originally published on The Wall Street Journal
Dan Amos, Aflac Inc.’s chairman and chief executive officer, took a big risk in 2000 by launching a nationwide ad campaign mocking the insurer’s name. Yet the TV commercials, where a duck loudly quacks “Aflaaaac,” paid off.
The regionally known business soon became a household name. Aflac’s U.S. sales doubled between 1999 and 2003.
The long-running campaign is one reason Amos has run Aflac longer than any other Fortune 200 company leader except Warren Buffett.
“I like to manage risks [since] everything we do is risk related,” added Amos, who only wears ties decorated with ducks. If you avoid risks, “you are really not taking a broad enough perspective for a company to succeed,” he adds.
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