Animal distraction: Geico's disruption of automotive insurance advertising using lizards, cavemen and pigs
Geoffrey Precourt Warc
The moment in 1999 that sowed the creative seed for the start of Geico's long-running series of widely-celebrated animal-based commercials sounds more like a scene from the TV series "Mad Men" than a tactful piece of deliberate marketing.
Ted Ward, vp/marketing for the automotive insurance company, recounted its beginnings during the 4A's (American Association of Advertising Agencies) annual Transformation conference.
"We had some focus groups in Scottsdale, Arizona, looking for creative input. We were trying to get a handle on why...