Insurance imitates art.

If you've read my post from yesterday, you know that M isn't exactly the insurance industry's biggest fan. How ironic, then, that I should find this poster in a stash of his souvenirs: a 1991 ad for the Metropolitan Life Insurance Company!

M says it's no big deal and not at all out of character for him to have wanted one for his collection. "It's a clever piece of advertising. You don't need to endorse the product or the company to see that."

I have to agree. "You're right--very simple and direct."

"Exactly."

"And you know I always like it when famous paintings cross over into the cartoonist's bailiwick."

"That's true, especially when there are dogs involved." He reminds me of my post last month about the painting of the ones sitting around playing poker.

"And notice the slogan down there at the bottom," I say.

"What about it?"

"Everything's so understated. 'GET MET." They could have said 'GET METROPOLITAN LIFE INSURANCE,' but instead it's just 'GET MET.' Pure elegance!"

"Yeah," he says. "Much more effective that way. Poetic, even."

"And the other part," I continue. "'IT PAYS.' Not the much more tiresome if perhaps more truthful 'IT PAYS UNLESS WE CAN THINK OF SOME WAY TO GET OUT OF IT.' That would have been way too wordy, don't you think?"

"Let it go, dog!" he says. "Don't make me regret baring my soul to you."

"L-M-A-O!" I reply.