GEICO has been using multiple pitch-persons for some time now. “Persons” is something of a misnomer…they’ve used cavemen, a variety of celebrities (my faves are Don LaFontaine, Peter Frampton, Michael Winslow, and Mrs. Butterworths) and, of course, the GEICO Gecko.

The very cockney gekko has been around since 1999, making him one of the more successful of insurance mascots. As he’s a 3D animated pitchman, he’s not changed much in the last 9 years (which is more than I can say for most of us.) While the cavemen went on to a shortlived series, the gecko has stayed true to his commercial roots. Interestingly, the gekko commercials have actually been both very consistent, and if anything, better over the years.

The latest one manages to poke gentle fun at GEICO itself, without making the viewer feel as if they’re being conned, and without the humor making us think less of the sponsor, just to get a laugh. That’s pretty amazing.

[NOTE: I'd post a copy of the spot here, but I've not found it online yet.]

The latest spot takes us to the GEICO executive wing, where a company representative is talking with the gecko, in order to share a few “helpful” suggestions on how to make the TV spots even better. They slip the “GEICO is the third-largest insurance company in America” factoid in so smoothly, you might not even realize it’s the main point of the spot. However, when the exec offers a tiny suit and tie up for the gecko to wear in future spots, the gecko’s reaction is…well…priceless. You really beleive the gecko is real, with the persona of a working stiff who’s torn between telling the truth and employing diplomacy to keep from suffering the same fate as the Taco Bell chihuahua and Speedy Alka-Seltzer.

In every gecko ad, the gecko is the “sugar” that makes the medicine (message) go down easy – so easy, in fact, most people might be aware they’ve seen a commercial, but are oblivious to the fact that they are being marketed-to in a very sophisticated way.

It says something when a 3D, computer-generated pitch-lizard can seem more real than Dave Lennox or the Maytag Repairman. It says that the gecko has become a part of the marketingverse to the point where he’s as familiar as any other well-loved corporate spokesman.

That’ll do, gecko. That’ll do.

This entry was posted on Wednesday, December 31st, 2008 at 12:09 am and is filed under marketing, media.You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.