Geico Taps 'Big Name' for Latest Funny Spot

Insurer Leans on Marco Polo, Real Customers in New Martin Agency-Created Ads

Published On
Jul 25, 2016

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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Project Type