GEICO strategically welcomed back its Caveman character to fuel a two-month lead-up to Super Bowl LVIII in an all-out media blitz after a 20-year hiatus.
Comperemedia’s 2024 Omnichannel Marketing Trend, Deja New, emphasizes the opportunity brands have to revitalize their sidelined brand figureheads—within a modern context—to drive relevancy and brand affinity with today’s consumers.
Leveraging the audience pull of the NFL playoffs, GEICO’s intertwined campaign narrative is nostalgic in a multi-faceted, emotion-evoking manner that allows consumers to buy into the Caveman’s story as it unfolds over the next few months—giving viewers a new perspective on a beloved brand antagonist that has lived outside the spotlight for two decades.
This campaign marks a shift in GEICO’s marketing playbook as the insurer branches out from its one-off spots to create a marketing miniseries that leverages national TV and OTT to tell its story over time and social media to bring consumers into the ongoing conversation.
GEICO welcomed back its Caveman in a relatable national TV spot titled “The Nightmare” to set the stage for its ongoing ad series. GEICO reminded viewers of its Caveman, showed a new emotional side of the character, and sparked interest in a developing storyline with one of its longest commercials ever.
Its efforts trickled to social media where posts reinforced its lapsed tagline and showed its Caveman in more modern lifestyle depictions.
The return of its Caveman is primarily being told through national TV campaigns that build from one spot to the next, but social media is being leveraged to continue building the modern image of the GEICO Caveman in today’s world.
It’s common for the insurer to repurpose its TV spots across a variety of channels, but for the Caveman storyline to take off we will expect GEICO to continue building out the dynamic makeup of the Caveman’s personality in 2024.
GEICO’s second spot in the Caveman saga carried the story’s thread by beginning to peel back the layers of the complex relationship.
GEICO isn’t bringing back its Caveman for a nostalgic splash in the pan, instead, it’s leaning into the unique dynamic that its Caveman brings to the table in contrast to its staple mascot, Martin.
Viewers are being exposed to a budding story, 20 years in the making, from the antagonist’s point of view but its emotional appeal is rooted in relatable experiences for the audience—pulling emotional levers that have viewers leaning into the Caveman’s reality.
As the return of GEICO’s Caveman saga continues to play out, here are the two main areas to pay attention to moving forward:
1. Modernizing the twist on 2000’s nostalgia
GEICO’s efforts certainly will continue to develop over time, it will be critical for other insurers to take note of how the brand borrows from its brand equity in the past to make its story relevant across audiences today. GEICO is not re-creating narratives that have already happened, instead, it is creating new storylines that carry a nostalgic feel with modern relevance—striking the balance of familiarity with nuanced brand interactions.
2. Social media’s role in a TV-centric playbook
Most major insurers allocate significant portions of their marketing budgets to national TV campaigns to garner widespread awareness. GEICO’s Caveman storyline is no different, but it will serve as an opportunity to understand how social media can create conversations and interactions that bring these national storylines to life for consumers—creating a space where consumers are active participants vs. passive viewers as the story unfolds.
Want to hear more on our predictions for GEICO’s potential advertising resurgence? Get in touch with our team today.
