The Genius Behind The GEICO Gecko

The company only chose the Gecko because of a Screen Actors Guild strike

“Fifteen minutes could save you 15 percent or more on car insurance.” — GEICO.

I have heard the catchy tagline hundreds, if not thousands of times, as have many Americans. Along with the Aflac Duck and Flo from Progressive, the GEICO Gecko is one of the most iconic and popular mascots in commercials.

According to human Roy and Joel Ohman at The Truth About Insurance, the GEICO Gecko is the most recognized insurance mascot and commonly associated with the company. A Lightspeed Research study found that the GEICO Gecko came first, followed by Flo, and then Allstate’s Mayhem.

In 2010, GEICO won the Digital Marketing Association Annual Marketer of the Year award, largely in part to its advertising campaign with the gecko. The reason why Gecko is so popular is simple: he’s funny, relatable, and has a catchy tagline. The gecko commonly forgets his lines, has to do multiple takes, and can’t stop laughing during the commercial — there’s simply nothing I’ve seen in advertisements that parallels the unique gecko with a British accent. And the catchy tagline would never have done so well had it not been associated with such an endearing mascot.

Apparently, his real name is Martin, and understanding the origin story will show us why. This is the story about how GEICO came up with the idea of the gecko, and how Gecko made GEICO the fastest growing auto insurance company in America.

According to the Digital Marketing Association, in the 1930s, GEICO was a relatively unknown auto insurer that largely targeting noncommissioned military officers and federal government employees via mail. However, the company grew by focusing on customers with stellar driving records, and GEICO offered low rates and started building its brand more — by the 1990s, it was the seventh-largest car insurance company in the U.S.

And the company was looking to expand. In 1994, GEICO hired The Martin Agency to handle its advertising. By 1996, Warren Buffet, who controlled Berkshire Hathaway and owned substantial GEICO stock, made GEICO a private company and made it a Hathaway subsidiary.

The Digital Marketing Association notes that GEICO started using the “15 minutes could save you 15 percent or more on car insurance” slogan, and the Martin Agency relied extensively on humor in its campaigns. Part of the marketing strategy was a call to action that moved customers to call a toll-free number or visit the website, in an effort to build “sales overnight, brand over time.”

However, at the time, there still wasn’t an icon of the GEICO brand.

When you hear the word GEICO, it might be confusing to pronounce if you haven't already seen the ads. It’s pronounced “guy-co” for anyone doesn’t know, but apparently, the most common mispronunciation of GEICO is “Gecko.” According to the GEICO website, The Martin Agency understood this common mispronunciation and used it to the company’s advantage — one member of the agency drew a doodle of a gecko. The real name of the GEICO Gecko is Martin, named after The Martin Agency, as a result.

According to GEICO, the gecko was an appealing choice to be the mascot of the brand because:

“Successful ad campaigns from the past have proven animals create a strong connection between customers and companies.”

However, Ted Ward, Vice President for Marketing at GEICO, originally didn’t like the idea of a talking gecko with a British accent as the face for the company. But GEICO really didn’t have many options — in 1999, the Screen Actors Guild had a strike that stopped advertisers from using live actors. The Martin Agency, being forced to adapt, used Gecko as its mascot.

According to Theresa Howard at USA Today, the gecko made his debut in a TV ad where he pleaded with customers to stop calling him, “because he’s a gecko, not GEICO.”

“This is my final plea: I am a gecko, not to be confused with GEICO, which could save you hundreds on car insurance,” the gecko says. “So, STOP CALLING ME!”

To see the first Gecko ad in 1999 is jarring, mainly because Gecko looks different and sounds different, with a more posh British accent, from more recent ads:

The gecko would help GEICO boom in sales. From 2002 to 2007, GEICO would bring in 2 million new policies, which at the time, made it the fastest-growing auto insurance brand. Ward was forced to come around.

“It was not my favorite campaign, personally,” says Ward. “I quickly became much more fond of him as we sold more policies. I’m a big fan of anything that makes our phone ring or website click. He really has helped us brandwise.”

Plus, the gecko did change significantly. He had a makeover by The Martin Agency in 2007 to give him bigger eyes, more humanlike movements, and a shorter body. His accent is now, in the words of Howard, a “more common English accent.” According to Steve Bassett, then the creative director at The Martin Agency, the company wanted to make the gecko more “guy-next-door” and make him look more real. As for why the gecko is so effective as a marketing campaign, Bassett says:

“I guess what I like most is that gecko equals Geico…It … allows you to connect better than saying, ‘Hey, this is a commercial for insurance.’ You’re already 70% there when he’s on the screen.”

The GEICO Gecko’s initial voice actor was Dave Kelly, but then transitioned to Jake Wood, who has an English Cockney accent. In 2013, he was voiced by Andrew Randall, a London-born actor in the U.S.

In 2005, the GEICO gecko was voted America’s favorite advertising icon. In 2013, he was even interviewed by Chelsea Clinton, who at the time was a special correspondent at NBC News. The gecko talks about his high school yearbook photos and talks about going on a book tour.

Yes, that’s right: Gecko has a book, titled “You’re Only Human: A Guide to Life.” It currently has 4/5 stars on Amazon. Gecko has transcended being an ad character and is now much more than that. In the blurb of Gecko’s book, he’s described as:

“A philosopher, an aphorist, a humorist, an artist, a warm companion, a natural storyteller — and, in a grand tradition, a keenly observant and wise outsider who in the course of living and traveling among us has discovered quite a lot about the things that make us human.”

The GEICO Gecko, then, is genius, not only through the humor and creativity behind the premise of a talking gecko, but through its staying power. It has remained relevant in GEICO ads since 1999 with over 150 different commercials.

In 2019, Insurance News Net released the following headline: “At Age 20, The GEICO Gecko Remains King Of The Insurance Ad.” Gecko polled as the third most recognizable product mascot, right behind the Starbucks mermaid and Colonel Sanders. The GEICO Gecko polled as the most likable mascot and the second most persuasive.

If the GEICO Gecko isn’t genius, then I don’t know what is. It’s crazy to think that Gecko wouldn’t even exist as the company’s mascot if it weren’t for a Screen Actors’ Guild strike.