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.

Technique: A digital graphic.

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

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 (February 3, 2008-)

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

Variants:

• From 2008 to 2013, a URL will appear below the logo.
• 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.

Technique: Digital editing.

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

Audio Variants:

• Sometimes, no announcer is heard. This was the case in early 15-second ads, specifically for the Rhetorical Questions campaign.
• Since the Get Happy campaign, the "15 minutes" line is simply omitted in the shorter cuts.

Availability: First appeared on a 2008 Super Bowl ad featuring the GEICO Cavemen. 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.