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- Jake from State Farm is Gen Z’s Favorite TikToker.
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WE ARE SO BACKKKK. Future Social’s been on & off the last month or so because hey, sometimes life punches you in the face (wait, I shouldn’t joke like that with my orbital bone only freshly healed). But never fear, we are back to your regularly scheduled thought leading.
Not a moment too soon, either—it’s advertising awards season! Makes my life easier as I browse through long lists of campaigns. Today’s brand caught my eye right away, and not just from the red and khaki.
—Jack Appleby
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Jake from State Farm is Gen Z’s Favorite TikToker.
Just as we all imagined, the biggest star of Brand TikTok is… a 30something man in khakis who works with insurance.
Yes, Jake from State Farm has become a social celeb. As in he literally has his own account—State Farm’s brand account is @JakeFromStateFarm, and he stars in every single TikTok as if he’s a regular ol’ content creator.
Let’s talk about how the insurance company turned a corporate mascot into TikTok’s most likable main character, and why your brand should finally give yourself a social spokesperson.
The strategy: build a character, not a brand.
Gen Z doesn’t want brands. They want people they can root for.
Jake already had a plenty likable personality from the State Farm commercials, so the brand went corpo-humanization and fleshed out Jake fully. No insurance policies or rate comparison—just that charming, culturally fluent, and awkwardly nice relatable guy, doing casual stuff like dapping up Travis Scott, collaborating with other big TikTokers, and just, well… being your everyday content creator.
@jakefromstatefarm We were really out there building essential life skills 😂 #Dodgeball #HighSchoolFootball #CrossCountry #FlagFootball #StudentSection
Better yet, build the relationship before they need the brand
Insurance isn’t something you’d just buy off TikTok Shop. It’s a considered decision by consumers For . What’s more? If they’re happy with their service and rate, they’re probably with you for 5+ years.
That’s why State Farm’s chasing Gen Z even before they start needing insurance. If a kid trusts Jake now, they’ll google State Farm first whenever you’ve gotta insure that used 2004 Civic their parents bought ‘em.
That relationship building isn’t just in content appeal, though—State Farm’s pretty active in community management. Jake doesn’t have followers, he has neighbors, and he left those neighbors 1,800 replies on TikTok this year, answering questions and dropping one-liners.
Trend content’s easy when you’ve got a character
@jakefromstatefarm Khaki fit, but make it ✨ modern✨ #SummerVibes #SummerTime #OutfitOfTheDay #TryOnHaul #SummerFashion
What do creators do? Collab with other creators
So many brands say they wanna be social-first, then go with traditional celebs who barely have a proper presence, much less a TikTok.
What I love about State Farm’s Collab Strategy: they use Jake equally as your typical creator excited to make content with other creators, and as a red carpet reporter who can hang with the biggest names.
@jakefromstatefarm We really did our thang on this one, @Paul Russell
On the creator x creator train, you’ve got:
But when Jake’s gotta be a brand correspondent, he can hit the beats, especially with other States Farm sponsored moments.
It hits that necessary blend of wide reach with platform popularity, all while cleverly making sure to tackle all of Gen Z’s favorite verticals like sports, fashion, and music.
Jake’s reached a bunch of good neighbors.
The data is prettyyyy damn great.
96.6 million people reached
236.7 million video views
160,340 days of watch time
1.36 million TikTok followers, over half of which are Gen Z
+6.8% lift in Gen Z brand preference since 2022
The campaign’s a finalist in the TikTok category of The Shorty Awards—go give Jake a vote and some love.