Speaker Series: Steve Bassett

Today's speaker was Steve Bassett, SVP Creative Director of The Martin Agency, right here in Richmond. Steve spoke to us today about the GEICO account in a talk entitled "Humor is a Serious Business: the Evolution of the GEICO Campaign." Martin has had the GEICO account for 13 years and Steve has been on it for 6.

To take it back to the beginning... in 1993, insurance equaled punishment. t was scary to think about and definitely not a cocktail party topic. Insurance advertising reflected as much, with its tried and true methods of scaring people into expensive plans through deep-voiced men, numbers flashing on screens and the occasional crash video.

GEICO's idea came about as a response to all of that. To knock down the barriers of "changing insurance is a hassle, what if it doesn't go well!?" The category of insurance was dark, and GEICO wanted to steer clear of that.

With that in mind, Martin decided to be direct. Don't appologise, use it as an advantage and create a feeling of insurance as reward.

Bassett pointed out that througout the GEICO campaign, the humor has changed depending on the creative director. When he took over the account, it was his goal to make the ads "a little less Benny Hill, a little more David Letterman." He is perfectly candid about the fact that his vision, too, is fluid. The next creative director, he said with a shrug, will probably want a little less Letterman and a little more Conan O'Brien.

On the use of the Gecko, Steve Bassett points out that it was an accidental brand icon. The Gecko wasn't focus grouped to death. It was meant to eliminate confusion, and the actors strike made one animated gecko ad turn into four more. But that said, the gecko isn't just another icon -- he knows he's an icon. As the years have gone by, the gecko has gotten more human looking and has gotten a more everyday British accent.

The 'Good News' campaign started with an old jok.

In one of the most recent campaigns, involving the now famous GEICO caveman, people appreciate subtle humor done well. Bassett describes it as the right campaign for the current PC climate.

The last campaign that Steve Bassett talked about was teh testimonial campaign. GEICO came to The Martin Agency and said that they would like to do a testimonial campaign, since they had so many happy customers. Martin was not thrilled, as testimonial campaigns are generally humorless and boring, but they tried to think of it in a 'GEICO' manner. When they reframed the problem by asking "how can we do it in a way GEICO can own?" the testimonial campaign was born.

Up next? the use of Mike Wallace, the driver that GEICO sponsors in the Busch series. And thus was born the 'Lauren Wallace' campaign.