Budget Direct opens a portal to the future to highlight $1.5b in payouts in new work via 303
A time-bending portal appearing in suburban Australia provides a glimpse into the future of insurance, in the latest cinematic instalment of Budget Direct’s hugely successful Insurance Solved campaign series developed by Budget Direct’s long-standing brand partner 303 Sydney.
‘Portal’ is a visually-driven piece that focusses on a man returning from the future who is still paying too much for insurance. Budget Direct stalwarts Sarge, Jacs and sidekick Chief are of course on the scene to help with his conundrum, reinforcing that ‘bill shock’ will still exist unless the future is changed – by quoting Budget Direct first.
Live this week, ‘Portal’ will be seen across TV, cinema, BVOD, SVOD, online, social, OOH and radio, and follows the launch of Budget Direct and 303’s memorable ‘Frozen’ campaign several months ago; recently voted Australia’s #1 favourite ad in The Research Agency’s (TRA) bi-annual study.
303 Sydney’s Chief Strategy Officer Jody Elston said Budget Direct’s highly recalled Insurance Solved platform continues to evolve by pairing familiar brand assets with fresh, distinctive storytelling: “With Portal, we’ve tapped into a proven behavioural insight that vividly imagining your future drives better decision-making today. By bringing a future version of our hero back to confront the cost of overpaying, the campaign turns a powerful psychological trigger into something entertaining and unmistakably Budget Direct. A compelling extension ofInsurance Solved; not just memorable but built to move people into consideration and short-listing.”
Chief Growth Officer at Auto & General / Budget Direct Jonathan Kerr said it was always exciting to see a new instalment of Insurance Solved go live, given how often they are cited in studies measuring effectiveness and attention: “We’re proud to earn the respect of our customers, and even prouder that we continue to push for greater engagement with each and every iteration.
“Both the recent recognition by the TRA research, and also being named #4 in Cubery’s Hot List of campaigns shows that our passion for creating high-quality, consistent advertising really works. Alongside our countless awards, and the fact we’ve paid out more than $1.5 billion dollars in claims in the past 12 months, it shows Budget Direct is not just leading the industry in accolades, but in the hearts and minds of Australians.”
Budget Direct has won a raft of awards in the past year, having picked up the coveted Insurer Of The Year award from Money magazine, Canstar, Finder and WeMoney. Its long-standing Insurance Solved platform, developed in partnership with 303 has also been widely recognised; in addition to the recent TRA and Cubery studies, it picked up a Gold for Long Term Effects and Gold for Brand Value at the 2024 Australian Effies and a Bronze for Sustained Success at the 2025 APAC Effies.
Budget Direct
Chief Growth Officer, Growth Ops – Jonathan Kerr
Associate Director, Marketing, Media & Acquisition, Growth Ops – Andrea Peters
General Manager, Marketing and Communications, Growth Ops – Warren Marsh
Head of Brand, Sponsorship & PR, Growth Ops – Katie Lansdale, Jess McGown (maternity leave cover)
Brand Manager, Growth Ops – Darren McStay
303 Sydney
Chief Executive Officer – Joanna Gray
Chief Creative Officer – Bart Pawlak
Chief Strategy Officer – Jody Elston
Creative Director – Adam Whitehead
Client Services Director – Ben Glasson
Client Service Project Lead – Jen Hird
Head of Production – Skye Lanser
Executive Broadcast Producer – Jacqueline Archer
Production Company – Good Oil
Director – Hamish Rothwell
Producer – Tracey-Lee Permall
Executive Producer – Sam Long
DOP – Crighton Bone
Edit House – ARC
Editor – Lucas Baynes
Edit Producer – Sally Quade
Post Production – Blockhead VFX
VFX Supervisor – Nigel Mortimer
Post Executive Producer – Charlotte Plowman / Laura Noonan
Original Music & Sound Post – Sonar Music
Social Media Campaign – Hello Social
Stills Photographer – Matt Baker, LOUIS & CO