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 10-note piano jingle, with the announcer saying "GEICO. A 15-minute call could save you 15% or more on car insurance."

Availability: Seen in the early 15-second advertisements from the company.

2nd Tag (1996-1998)

Visuals: A screen appears consisting of the GEICO Direct logo in white, over a still photograph of a telephone sitting atop a beige surface. Above it 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)

Availability: Same as above, seen in the later 15-second advertisements from the company, as well as recycled versions with this end tag attached to it.

3rd Tag (1998-2004)

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.

Availability: Same as before, mostly seen on GEICO's 15-second advertisements from the 1990s.

6th Tag (2004-2011)

Visuals: Over a grayish-white gradient background, the GEICO logo, along with the URL "geico.com", is seen in blue. Below it is the national phone number for the company, which like before can sometimes be swapped out for a local office's phone number.

Variant: The logo was revived for the "Best of GEICO" campaign in 2019. The URL and phone number were removed, the gradient now has a blue-ish tint, and a notice appears at the bottom of the screen to "Vote for your favorite" next to the now-defunct URL "geico.com/bestof". Later on, the notice was removed and the text "THE BEST OF" was placed atop the logo.

Technique: A digital graphic.

Audio: Just the announcer saying "GEICO. 15 minutes could save you 15% or more on car insurance."

Audio Variant: On some advertisements, for example on the "Why Haven't You Called GEICO?" campaign, the "on car insurance" line was removed from the slogan.

Availability: Seen on ads featuring the Gecko, or the Cavemen, between 2004 and 2011. It was also seen on the Kash campaign in 2009.

7th 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.
• 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 15-second ads for the Rhetorical Questions campaign, and the Xtranormal campaign.
• 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.

8th 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.

9th Tag (2014-2022)

(It's What You Do era tag description)