A man from the Pru who looks good on TV

PETER YORK ON ADS: No 168: PRUDENTIAL

The New Prudential commercial is quite remarkable. Not for its direction and editing - it looks fine, but big-budget advertising standards are very high now - nor for its message, which is familiar. What is truly extraordinary about the ad is that the real chief executive of this huge financial-services company presents it.

We're used to the occasional maverick entrepreneur starring in his own advertising - Victor Kyam or Richard Branson. But the established end of the insurance industry isn't remotely like that - the culture's been more Sir Humphrey-ish, with a vow of silence attached.

In their rare appearances, such people usually sit behind desks and make corporate announcements, looking profoundly uncomfortable despite a fortnight of intense TV training.

So it's surprising that Peter Davis makes a very good job of it, doing walking-around shots, sitting-in-cafe shots and reading-book shots. He also does an excellent voiceover: smooth, reassuring, but credible.

The theme of the commercial revives a folk-memory: the rep who used to call at the door to collect insurance payments. Peter Davis - you see his signature on screen in grey writing - is "the man from the Pru" and he says he's your guardian angel.

This is an extraordinary claim for an insurance kinda guy to make with a straight face, but he carries it off.

"If you're 25, I probably look like another boring businessman ... you'd be wrong. I'm your guardian angel. In 30 years, you could be living off a boat with a little help from me - or running that little cheese shop in the Cotswolds, or writing that novel or being the next Capability Brown - or simply not catching the 8.32," says David, as attractive images of mellow middle-class retirement drift past.

Richard Branson casts a long shadow, and nowhere longer than with Virgin's entry into the largely faceless, brandless world of mainstream financial services. Prudential have picked up the challenge boldly.