Geico Taps 'Big Name' for Latest Funny Spot
Insurer Leans on Marco Polo, Real Customers in New Martin Agency-Created Ads
Editor's Pick
Geico has tapped a big name for a spot in its newest campaign -- Marco Polo, the Middle Ages explorer famous for traveling Asia. In a humorous ad that stays true to the insurer's quirky humor, an actor appears as Mr. Polo in an outdoor swimming pool as children play the popular Marco Polo discovery game. Mr. Polo continues to say "Si, scusi," as he believes the kids are looking for him. A voice-over says, "Playing Marco Polo with Marco Polo? Surprising. What's not surprising? How much money Amanda and Keith saved by switching to Geico," as the camera shows real-life Geico customers holding a sign asserting $645 in savings. Meanwhile, a llama noses around the pool.
The commercial, which will appear nationally in 30-and 15-second versions on Monday, is part of Geico's new "It's not surprising" campaign and is one of several spots breaking this week. The Martin Agency, which has worked with Geico for more than two decades, created the marketing.
"We are never sure if a campaign will resonate with our audiences, but we have a pretty solid track record," said Ted Ward, VP-marketing at Berkshire Hathaway-owned Geico. "The use of testimonials is a tried and true technique."
The new work will coincide with two new spots from the "It's what you do" campaign, which began in 2014; both are part of the long-time tagline of "15 minutes could save you 15% or more." Geico will continue running its gecko brand messaging as well. The new campaign may ultimately replace the "It's what you do" work.
"Multiple storylines allow us to go into different worlds and pull out what we're trying to push," said Wade Alger, group creative director at Richmond, Va.-based Martin. "Because of the amount of media in our spend, it's nice to have multiple storylines out there to avoid burnout on our brand."
The new campaign will include social and digital efforts as well, according to Mr. Alger.
Read more about the effort on Adage.com.
Credits
- Date
- Jul 25, 2016
- Brand :
- Geico
- Client :
- Geico
- Agency :
- The Martin Agency
- Vice President, Marketing :
- Ted Ward
- Director, Marketing Media Advertising :
- Bill Brower
- Senior Manager of Brand Marketing :
- Melissa Halicy
- Sports Marketing :
- Melissa Halicy
- Brand Team :
- Mike Grant
- Supervisor :
- Mike Grant
- Creative Planner :
- Brighid Griffin
- Creative Planner :
- Tom Perlozzo
- Coordinator :
- Julia Nass
- Coordinator :
- Tim Ware
- Chief Creative Officer :
- Joe Alexander
- Group Creative Director :
- Steve Bassett
- Group Creative Director :
- Wade Alger
- Creative Director :
- Sean Riley
- Senior Copywriter :
- Ken Marcus
- Executive Producer :
- Brett Alexander
- Broadcast Producer :
- Brian Camp
- Associate Broadcast Producer :
- Coleman Sweeney
- Junior Broadcast Producer :
- Sara Montgomery
- Account Director :
- Ben Creasey
- Account Supervisor :
- Allison Hensley
- Account Executive :
- Jon Glomb
- Coordinator :
- Allie Waller
- Business Affairs Supervisor :
- Suzanne Wieringo
- Financial Account Supervisor :
- Monica Cox
- Senior Production Business Manager :
- Amy Trenz
- Project Manager :
- Karen McEwen
- Production Company :
- RadicalMedia
- Director :
- Steve Miller
- Executive Producer :
- Gregg Carlesimo
- Head of Production :
- Frank Dituri
- Producer :
- Jonathan Dino
- Editorial Company :
- MackCut
- Editor :
- Ian MacKenzie
- Assistant Editor :
- Mike Leuis
- Executive Producer :
- Gina Pagano
- Producer :
- Sabina-Elease Utley
- Sound Design :
- Sam Shaffer
- Editorial Company :
- Running with Scissors
- Assistant Editor :
- Drew Neuhart
- Telecine :
- The Mill
- Colorist :
- Fergus McCall
- Finishing and Visual Effects :
- RWS
- Flame Artist :
- Chris Hagen
- Flame Assistant :
- Paul Widerholt
- Post Producer :
- Katherine Leatherwood
- Audio Post Company :
- Rainmaker Studios
- Senior Sound Designer :
- Jeff McManus
- Owner/Executive Producer :
- Kristin O'Connor
- Scheduler :
- Clinton Spell II
- General Manager :
- Clinton Spell II
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