American Republic Insurance “Eagles”

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You The Eagle a Proudheroic figure with a commanding presence a bird of unbridled courage imbued with fierce competitive instincts and an unconquerable spirit Awesome in flight he soars higher than other birds Powerful seven -foot wings lift him to ten thousand feet and beyond This magnificent creature dominates his peers far out of proportion to his size In a way found nowhere else in nature for all these reasons man Nature's most advanced living creation Holds for this splendid bird a special kind of respect and even reverence The Eagle is a bold and fearless hunter Thanks to telescopic eyesight.

He is able to spot a rabbit in tall grass from three thousand feet Once he picks out his target the Eagle doesn't waste any time He folds his wings against his body and closes at blinding speed for the kill I'm Watson Powell jr.

Chairman of the board of American Republic Insurance Company And I'm here to tell you why now more than ever before I feel the American bald eagle Is a very fitting symbol for our company and to some extent.

I think I already have Our minds tend to think in symbols.

It's a kind of mental shorthand Spring symbolizes youth winter old age light stands for virtue darkness can mean evil and misfortune Eagle symbolism goes back to the beginnings of civilization From ancient times Eagles have been used as symbols of Empire the Roman and Napoleonic of courage military prowess The Eagle appears on Roman coins as an emblem of Imperial power and of allegiance The figures prominently and heralded coats of arms Because of the Eagles ability to fly so high and dominate and even destroy base forces Daddy called the Eagle the bird of God For this reason the Eagle has become emblematic of high spiritual and moral principles The American bald eagle became a national symbol after it was adopted by Congress for the Great Seal of the United States in 1782 when George Washington toured the 13 states in 1789 People painted transparent Eagles on their windowpanes and let candles behind them In early Americana Eagles have appeared as ships ornaments on regimental drummers on bedhead boards and as flagpole ornaments Charles Lindbergh was called the lone Eagle after he made the first non -stop flight across the Atlantic New York to Paris solo in 1927 and in 1939 before America officially entered World War two American volunteers fought Hitler's loop waffling in the skies over France in the famous Eagle squadron Here today in the bicentennial generation It seems to me the American Eagle is a most appropriate emblem to represent the character of American Republic Insurance Company As a people we are returning to the traditionally American values that made this nation great Ideals like honesty fair play and fair value for a dollar are being heard again Of course these ideals have been part and parcel of American Republic's philosophy of doing business ever since the company's founding back in 1929 and That's not a bad base for an insurance company to build on Now you can look at this corporate signature of ours in a couple of ways You may envision the background Eagle is all of us American Republic the insurance company and the foreground Eagle is our policyholders The people were in business to protect I think that's valid because we've built the leading reputation in America For providing health care benefits for individuals and families.

I see our symbol of the double Eagles as live Warm almost parental evidence of the protection we provide and we continue to care about our policyholders after the sale We keep the lines of communication open between us so we can respond quickly to their needs Thanks to the most sophisticated retrieval system in the entire insurance industry every American Republic policyholders name and file is at our very fingertips a Policyholder with a question can call our national headquarters in Des Moines where a service representative will electronically retrieve the policyholders file and immediately respond to the policyholders question I Think the idea of the two Eagles as the company and the policyholders is a fitting visual metaphor and Great symbolism when we tell our story to the public Yet there is another way to look at our double Eagle symbol the way we look at ourselves One Eagle is the corporate part of American Republic Insurance Company our national headquarters The other Eagle is the agent Our first Eagle is protective and helps the other Eagle to fly and hunt Soon our second Eagle is ready to solo and wants to show off the skills learned around the nest face -to -face with the competition Through the use of films sales training aids and personal instruction our second Eagle the agent is taught not only to survive But to be a highly skillful and successful hunter in a very competitive world Working together as a team providing Americans the best insurance value money can buy The double Eagles are a formidable winning combination This winning team of two Eagles is tough tough enough to take on all comers including the Giants of the insurance industry umbrellas men stags and fireman's helmets don't faze the double Eagles and Neither does the rock The insurance industry is replete with symbols, but we picked the biggest of the big to represent them all In effect we've chosen the rock to symbolize all the monolithic insurance companies out there those companies who specialize in selling investment type life insurance plans These companies in addition to selling life insurance protection have many varied interests diverse investments services and businesses all the way from cattle ranches to offshore oil wells Now I consider this a vitally important point at American Republic our Eagles are selling life insurance Pure life insurance our business is providing protection not investing money Now insurance policies with investment objectives are fine as long as they are represented as such and As long as that's what the policyholder wants and can afford but that's not our business American Republic sells protection both life insurance and health insurance protection We provide for individuals and families accident and health insurance with the finest claim -paying reputation in America great coverage and even greater value as A company and as individuals our people care about people relate directly and warmly to their needs and wants We think the American family is a great institution and we want to provide the security that keeps it flourishing At American Republic we say we are the protection people You know when you think about it, maybe the difference in comparing life insurance philosophies can be as dramatic as comparing an eagle with a rock and Speaking of comparative symbolism.

We think we have a great thing going for us the Eagle soars He has commanding presence and stature Charisma if you will The Eagles sole purpose in life is the protection feeding and caring of its brood.

That's it for the Eagle the rock Protection may be only a small part of its many concerns Protection and investment are two entirely different objectives and we feel protection comes first the Eagle believes protection plans should be designed to satisfy protection needs and Investment plans to satisfy investment purposes Traditionally life insurance companies symbolized by the rock have sold investment plans to satisfy protection purposes At American Republic we have freed the purchaser of life insurance from also having to pay for an investment plan What's more the Eagle offers the good life? significant amounts of life insurance protection at easily affordable premiums Because the Eagle believes in pure protection first Americare life term life insurance is a very special type of plan First of all its rates and benefits are guaranteed then it is guaranteed renewable for the policyholders lifetime and Convertible the whole life.

It's practical extremely economical easily understandable life insurance protection You offer the choice the Eagle or the rock other insurance companies have salesmen agents American Republic has the They act like they hunt like Eagles they win like Eagles Sure, if you want to think of our national headquarters as one Eagle and the agent is the other Eagle.

That's good But remember we're a team It's teamwork headquarters an agent working together that makes us fly We'll soar we'll hunt And we'll fly and because we're Eagles we'll always fly You

Identifier

F.2010-01-0113

Date Of Production

1975

Abstract

Watson Powell, Jr. - Chairman of the Board of the American Republic Insurance Company - narrates this sponsored film through voiceover and onscreen appearances. The majority of the film does little to detail the insurance company. Instead, the narrative focuses more on the majestic qualities of the eagle, the history of the eagle as a symbol, and the reasons why the eagle makes for a fitting metaphor for the insurance company.

Run Time

0:11:56

Format

16mm

Extent

440 feet

Color

Sound

Optical

Reel/Tape Number

1/1

Has Been Digitized?

Yes

Language Of Materials

English

Element

Distribution Print

Genre