Animal distraction: Geico's disruption of automotive insurance advertising using lizards, cavemen and pigs

This report from the 4As's Transformation annual conference describes the genesis and subsequent iterations of the widely-celebrated series of humorous commercials that have been the advertising hallmark of Geico, the US automotive insurer.

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...

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