Posts Tagged “GEICO”

When I was a small child, I am told, I used to run out of the room when a TV show was on, but race back in, to watch the commercials with rapt attention. My parents found this behavior a bit odd, to say the least. Little did they know that I would grow up to be a marketing and advertising guy, where I would not only write about commercials, but write and direct them for a living. When I was young, it was difficult to defend this behavior. As an adult, I know realize that a 30 second commercial (at least the good ones) have average budgets similar to a 30-second sitcom, with better acting, tighter scripts, far better special effects and production values, and more compelling content.  Read the rest of this entry »

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. Read the rest of this entry »