Batman vs. Bateman: State Farm Super Bowl Spot Gets March Madness Spotlight

By Barry Janoff

March 12, 2025: Earlier this year, State Farm pulled a commercial it planed to run during Super Bowl LIX, saying the decision was due to the devastating Los Angeles wildfires.

“Our focus is firmly on providing support to the people of Los Angeles,” the company said at the time. "We are bringing the full scale and force of our catastrophe response teams to help customers recover — whether they are on the ground in LA or across the country,"

That commercial has now launched in time for March Madness even as the insurer faces backlash for its California-related decisions.

State Farm has seemingly spared no expense — although the cost to produce this was not shared — for “Batman vs. Bateman,” which stars actor Jason Bateman as a diminished version of the iconic Caped Crusader.

According to Jake from State Farm, that means, “Having insurance isn’t the same as having State Farm. It’s like having Bateman when you need the protection of Batman.”

The full two-minute spot, now running online, will air during the lead-up to and then durijng and beyond NCAA March Madness broadcasts in 60- and 30-second versions.

Much darker but in a comedic way and miles more Hollywood blockbuster than current bright and bouncer State Farm spots with Juju Watkins and Caitlin Clark, “Batman vs. Bateman” features a veritable cast of friends and foes from the DC Batman universe.

Although Batman himself as not as yet been identified, others include SZA as Catwoman, Kai Cenat as a citizen of Gotham City, Jordan Howlett as commissioner James Gordon and Kevin Miles as Jake from State Farm.

Villains The Joker, Riddler, Two-Face and Poison Ivy play key roles.

"This campaign creates an opportunity for our brand that is known for driving cultural relevancy through entertainment to boldly ask consumers if they’re confident the insurance they have includes the coverage they need,” Kristyn Cook, State Farm chief agency, sales and marketing officer, said via the company.

"Through the juxtaposition of Batman and Bateman, we’re building the narrative for consumers to look at the insurance industry and question the value being offered by our competitors. Because it’s clear that just having insurance isn’t the same as getting the full value of having State Farm.”

The strategy comes as State Farm is under scrutiny regarding the situation in California, including its request for an emergency rate increase,

“State Farm is demanding a rate hike while concealing critical financial details,” William Pletcher, litigation director at Consumer Watchdog, said via the advocacy group. “State Farm’s financial troubles stem from its own mismanagement and its decision to overextend its risk portfolio, not from any legitimate emergency justifying an immediate rate hike.”

According to The Los Angeles Times, “A top State Farm executive was fired this week after saying the insurer’s California rate hikes are ‘kind of’ orchestrated and after making disparaging remarks about Pacific Palisades homeowners that were caught on an undercover video.”

The Times said the executive was Haden Kirkpatrick, State Farm Mutual’s vice president for innovation and venture capital.

State Farm released a statement to The Times that “the individual in the video is no longer associated with State Farm” and his assertions are “inaccurate and in no way represent the views of State Farm. They do not reflect our position regarding the victims of this tragedy, the commitment we have demonstrated to the people of California, or our hiring practices across the company.”

“Batman vs. Bateman” was developed in collaboration with Highdive, with additional agencies supporting the 360-campaign including FleishmanHillard, Infinity Marketing Team, OMD, Optimum Sports, The Marketing Arm Warner Bros. Discovery, Creative License and ThisMachine.

Bateman plays his role similar to Will Arnett’s irreverent portrayal in The LEGO Movie and The Lego Batman Movie.

When danger strikes and people call for Batman, Bateman shows up and explains, “Not Batman, Bateman. Close enough.

“I have to tell you — the suit really bunches up in the old back cave, if you know what I mean.” During confrontations with villains, he stops to ponder, “What is love? What isn’t love?”

Surrounded by villains led by The Joker, he offers, “Oh boy, party clown. Listen if we’re going to be roomies, no juggling, no magic, no balloon animals. I don’t want any weird clown stuff.”

Faced with real danger, he admits, “Yeah, this is feeling much more Batman to me.”

When the real Batman shows up, he has no time for his wannabe. “Bateman, go home, Do a podcast or something.”

“This is a general market campaign. It kicks off in March Madness, but it’s not a March Madness campaign — it’s going to last, and it’s across all of our media,” Alyson Griffin, State Farm head of marketing, told Marketing Dive. “We needed to be able to have flexibility in the storytelling, to target a broad swath of people.

“This was our Super Bowl spot. We took a moment and picked this March time frame because March Madness is a culturally relevant moment, with a broad audience with a similar [cumulative] eyeball size as the Super Bowl.”

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