Draft:GEICO

Credits

Compiled by
Compooper

Background

GEICO (Government Employees Insurance Company) is an insurance company based in Maryland and owned by Berkshire Hathaway.

1st Tag (1994-1996)

Visuals: Over a black background, the GEICO logo in white is positioned in the upper half of the screen, with a slogan under it reading "The sensible alternative." Below is a phone number, usually for a local office from the company, along with a disclaimer reading "Not available in MA or NJ".

Technique: A still, computerized card.

Audio: A 9-note (or 10-note) piano jingle, with the announcer (Andrew Anthony) saying "GEICO. A 15-minute call could save you 15% or more on car insurance." The last two notes are usually emphasized, occasionally with another instrument playing alongside the piano.

2nd Tag (1996-1998)

Visuals: A screen consisting of the GEICO Direct logo in white, over a still photograph of a telephone sitting atop a beige surface. Below the logo is the phone number of a local office, and a "www.GEICO.com" URL.

Technique: A digital graphic edited over a live-action photo.

Audio: Same as before, except the jingle is usually played with a different instrument (i.e. whistling, a guitar, an accordion)

3rd Tag (1998-2012)

Visuals: On a white background, the GEICO Direct logo is situated on the upper half of the screen. Below is a phone number, again for a local office, the slogan from the first tag in blue, and a "www.geico.com" URL.

Variant: The slogan is removed in some advertisements.

Technique: A digital graphic.

Audio: Same as before, but with a different 8-note jingle. Recycled 1994-1997 ads retain their respective jingles.

4th Tag (2006-)

Visuals: The GEICO logo in white appears over the final frame of the advertisement.

Variants:

• From its original usage on the "Real Service, Real Savings" ads between 2006 and 2008 as well as the 15-second ads from 2009 featuring the Gecko after hours, the logo originally faded in. Starting with the Super Bowl XLII ad featuring the Cavemen, the logo simply cuts in.
• From 2006 to 2013, a URL will appear below the logo. The spacing between the logo and URL can vary.
• There could be a drop shadow behind the logo in some advertisements.
• In the 2012 batch of the "Easier Way to Save" ads, there is a variant used on the 15-second cuts in which after the "There's an easier way to save" text appears, it directly cuts to the GEICO logo on-screen and skips the second half of the animation altogether.
• For the Sequels campaign in 2020, the logo appears with a metallic texture, and a 3D look. The URL "geico.com/sequels" appears below, and for the three re-broadcasted original ads, "To be continued..." will also appear after a few seconds.
• Starting in 2021, additional animations can be added onto the logo:
  • A house and a car pop up above the logo, separated by a plus symbol. The house and car then merge, and form a "bundle". This was seen on the "Bundling Made Easy" advertisements.

Technique: Digital editing.

Audio: Just the announcer saying the company slogan from before.

Audio Variants:

• Some ads, like before, remove the "on car insurance" line from the slogan.
• For the "Get Happy, Get GEICO" campaign in 2012, the namesake line was added onto the slogan. Moreover, folk music can be heard in the background.
• Sometimes, no announcer is heard. This was heard on Rhetorical Questions (shorter cuts only), Xtranormal and Fast Forward campaigns.
• Starting in 2012, the "15 minutes" line is simply omitted in the 15-second cuts.

Availability: First appeared on the "Real Service, Real Savings" commercials from 2006-2008. It has since replaced the white background end tag following the Gecko's Journey commercials in 2011, and has now become the primary tag for every commercial since that point.

5th Tag (2010-2012)

Visuals: Over a white background, the GEICO logo is situated above several vehicles (a car, a boat, a jet ski, an RV, an ATV, and a motorcycle). Depending on the advertisement, one of the vehicles mentioned above (usually the one being showcased) would be missing, and would later drive in with blue streaks behind it.

Technique: CGI.

Audio: Just the announcer saying "GEICO. Saving people money on more than just car insurance."

Availability: Seen in the "Blueprint" advertisements between 2010 and 2012.

6th Tag (2011-2012)

(Easier Way to Save)

7th Tag (2014-2022)

Visuals: The GEICO logo in white appears in 3D, placed within the environment of the commercial.

Technique: Live-action, with CGI being motion-tracked onto the scene.

Audio: The score from the commercial.

Availability: First seen on the "It's What You Do" advertisements from the company, and later appeared on the "Count on GEICO" campaign in 2017.

8th Tag (2015-2016)

(GEICO tag animation used on four Gecko ads from 2015)