| Did you watch the Super Bowl on Sunday? Was it for the game? The half-time show? An excuse to indulge in chips, chili, and beer? Who am I kidding? It’s all about the ads. What was your favorite ad this year? Mine was “Drake from State Farm.” The commercial showed Jake from State Farm, played by actor Kevin Miles, prepping to film a commercial with football stars Patrick Mahomes and Aaron Rodgers. You may recall that the new Jake from State Farm appeared during last year’s Super Bowl. He was the evolution of the original Jake from State Farm who debuted in 2011. The 2011 Jake from State Farm was literally a khaki wearing State Farm insurance agent, named Jake Stone, from Bloomington IL. In the 2021 iteration, Jake’s stand in for the commercial shoot is rapper, singer, songwriter Drake. Familiarity breeds COMFORT. The familiarity came from this long-time connection to the central figure, Jake. Did this familiarity make me like the ad better? Likely yes. There’s science behind the “mere exposure effect,” which says we like things that are familiar. Science Daily affirms: people express undue liking for things merely because they are familiar with them. It apparently worked for State Farm: According to Yahoo News, “engagement increased 631% after the ad aired, Talkwalker reported.” I bet the cheesehead hat helped with that, too! This is Good News for the Change Averse You’re smart and experienced and have a lot to offer. But the way we deliver and consume media has changed drastically. Sometimes the world can make you feel like everything old is bad. You have to adopt all new to survive. A 43-year-old 7th time Super Bowl winning quarterback and a 68-year-old first time winning coach tells me that old–ahem, wise and experienced–is fabulous. Change doesn’t mean abandoning who you are, but there are benefits to evolving—both from adopting easier ways to get work done to garnering new audiences who connect with you in different ways. Short of totally new, how might you benefit from just an update? | 
