Blue Cross launches new ad campaign

Blue Cross and Blue Shield of North Carolina has dispensed with the goats in its new ad campaign.

Now the state's largest insurer is tooting its own horn instead in a series of TV commercials and in online and social media ads.

Today Blue Cross launched the second phase of its "Let's Talk Cost"  campaign, which dates back to last April and spotlights spiraling health care costs. Phase one starred a bunch of goats -- a goat with a stethoscope, a goat in a suit and tie and more -- to drum home its message: Let's stop looking for scapegoats.

That campaign spurred a lot of questions about what Blue Cross was doing to rein in costs, said spokesman Lew Borman. The new campaign addresses that issue.

A series of humorous TV commercials highlights initiatives such as the online tool Blue Cross recently launched so that members can compare cost and quality information for surgical procedures at different medical facilities; and a new medical practice it formed with the UNC Health Care System comprised of a team of health care professionals -- including physicians with different specialties, as well as a pharmacist and nutritionist -- who collaborate on treatments for patients with chronic illnesses.

The commercials feature people who don't believe what they're hearing about Blue Cross. In one, a mother douses her middle-aged son with a glass of water after he tells her that all the people who treat him are now under one roof.

"Wake up, Eric," she admonishes him. "You're sleepwalking again, babbling nonsense."

"Believe it," an announcer solemnly declares. "Doctors and Blue Cross and Blue Shield of North Carolina are partnering to rein in medical costs."

The ads and a revamped "Let's Talk Cost" website were created by Raleigh communications agency Capstrat. Borman declined to say how much Blue Cross is spending on the campaign.

You can see the ads here.