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Geico Brings Back Some of Its Lesser-Known Characters for Their ‘Sequels’
Pinocchio, the Woodchucks and the Raccoons all made a comeback.
The Lego Movie 2: The Second Part, Spider-Man: Far From Home, The Secret Life of Pets 2, Frozen 2, Happy Death Day 2U. In 2019, nearly every contemporary franchise got the sequel treatment, either wished for or bemoaned by fans of the original.
And now, at the tail-end of this whacky year of box office déjà vu, The Martin Agency has created, not one, but six silly sequels for three of Geico’s iconic characters from past advertisements: Pinocchio, the Raccoons and the Woodchucks.
Creative director of The Martin Agency Justin Harris said that once the idea of campaign, aptly titled “Sequels,” was agreed upon, Geico and The Martin Agency team were all in agreement that they “needed to keep this as fresh and surprising as possible.”
Per Harris, that meant meant using characters that viewers hadn’t seen in the past couple years (or were asked for after the Best of Geico campaign in 2018). “In a way, it was more fun to skip past the no-brainer Geico icons and play with some of the memorable ‘second team, all-star’ characters,” he said.
As “Sequels” was fleshed out, the team “quickly saw the comedic potential,” Martin Agency svp, creative director Neel Williams explained. “We figured if Hollywood can keep rebooting movie franchises, why can’t we do the same thing with some of our favorite ads?” Williams added.
Not only will “Sequels” run nationally via broadcast and across social, but movie posters for the ads will also show up in theater lobbies across the country.
When asked what reception of the ad campaign has been like so far, Williams joked: “The producers of The Fast and the Furious franchise have already contacted us about doing a cross-over film to be released in 2025.”
U.S. residents will have the opportunity from now until midnight on Feb. 10 to vote for their favorite characters. A spokesperson from The Martin Agency teased that, since awards season is approaching, they might be getting “help from real critics to help people weigh in on their favorites as the campaign goes on.” Fans might also get the chance to snag mementos from the commercial sets through “special sweepstakes moments,” the spokesperson said.
Because nobody enjoys movie spoilers, we’re not giving away the riveting plot twists of the sequels. We’ll let you (literally) be the judge.
But we can give away the ending. Every mini blockbuster ends with the tagline: “With Geico, the savings keep on going, just like this sequel. Fifteen minutes could save you 15% or more on car insurance.”
