Topic: Allstate

The Kyocera Dura XV LTE is highlighted as a rugged feature phone option for those seeking durability. Meanwhile, Allstate Insurance is reportedly using smartphone accelerometers and gyroscopes to track driver behavior and adjust insurance rates. The segment warns that insurance companies are already analyzing millions of trips to penalize phone use while driving.

Allstate has been awarded a patent for technology that monitors driving habits, including braking, speed, and physiological data like heart rate via the steering wheel. The patent envisions selling this data to banks, marketers, and health insurance companies to assess risk. Proponents argue it improves safety and offers discounts, while critics warn of a future where insurance is mandatory and behavior is constantly tracked.

Allstate released a commercial featuring a spokesman discussing the distribution of 12,000 teddy bears to children affected by Hurricane Sandy. The ad is criticized as a cynical corporate maneuver prepared in advance of natural disasters to improve the company's image. Critics argue that victims need substantive financial payouts rather than symbolic gestures like stuffed animals.

The hosts analyze Allstate's "Mayhem" advertising campaign, specifically an ad featuring a teenage girl's emotional compromise. They argue the ads use "mobster" logic, implying that customers need protection from the very chaos the ads depict, effectively operating as a protection racket.

The hosts review an Allstate "Mayhem" commercial that portrays a wealthy executive as a villain. They conclude the episode by reminding listeners to sign up for the mothership boarding pass program. The show signs off from "Gitmo Nation West" with a promise to return for the Sunday service.