There have definitely been some funny and memorable commercials made over the years. One category of business that has a history of putting on fun and unforgettable commercials is the insurance industry. Five different companies' commercials especially stand out from their past advertising campaigns.
#1. Geico Gecko Commercials
Is there any American who does not know and love the Geico Gecko and commercials? In the Geico Gecko commercial, a sometimes world weary green lizard talks about Geico's discount insurance products in an accent that could be British, Australian, or New Zealand in origin. He is often sitting in on Geico board meetings and giving pitches to the actor-portrayed CEO of Geico. The Gecko is typically depicted as smart and savvy - the brains behind Geico's successful and high-quality insurance products.
The most memorable of these commercials in recent years is Geico's "ring a ding ding ding a do ringity ding ding ding" ringtone commercial, part of a series of commercials featuring an amicable-but-bumbling Geico executive. Geico cleverly tied this in to a downloadable ringtone campaign.
#2. Geico Cave Man Commercials
Geico takes both the #1 and #2 spots in this list of the top 7 insurance commercials. Arguably, Geico's creative advertising campaigns have inspired others to take the same approach -- in some ways, Geico might be responsible for other campaigns on our list!
Geico is the nation's third largest insurance company. It is owned by legendary billionaire investor Warren Buffet and his Berkshire Hathaway conglomerate. They are famed for offering reliable, yet still discounted, car, motorcycle, and even renters' insurance to people all over the United States.
In the Geico Cave Man commercials, switching to Geico Insurance is shown to be so easy that even a cave man can do it. Several savvy, well dressed, and sophisticated cave men are always shown being frustrated and angry that they are being stereotyped as stupid and ignorant. The Geico Gecko has already gone down as among the most famous pitch men of all time. The Geico Cave Man commercials became so beloved that a short lived series of the Geico cave men was even launched and aired.
#3. Allstate Mayhem Villain Commercials
Allstate's new commercials are certainly memorable. In these new villain featuring spots, Mayhem portrays the many things that can befall a car owner. “I’m the key against your side door,” the new villain Mayhem says in the first teaser commercial. “I’m a wild deer.” On the screen, these words are displayed: “Mayhem is coming. Are you in good hands?” In a second teaser commercial, Mayhem states, “I’m the puppy that ate your back seat” as he then spits out a chunk of foam. In a third such teaser commercial, in which Mayhem actually drives a pink sports utility vehicle, he declares, “I’m a typical teenage girl,” then he looks down at a mobile device, proceeds to crash into a car, tosses the device, and finally drives off.
The commercials are memorable for invoking the old wildly popular tradition of showing villains in commercials that fight against the product, which is being portrayed as the hero. Allstate is the nation's largest personal insurance lines company which is publicly held. It is well known for providing high quality, and subsequently more expensive, car and home insurance to all Americans.
#4. Progressive Auto Insurance's Flo, the "Know-It-All Girl" Commercials
Progressive has had an interesting campaign going for several years. This commercial features know-it-all girl Flo (portrayed by actress Stephanie Courtney), often in a white coat, explaining to various customers how easy it is to shop for cheaper car insurance using progressive.com. She is usually entertaining as an over the top enthusiastic car insurance guru. Progressive is one of the nation's older major insurance companies famous for innovating in the industry and dating back to 1937. It is famed for offering discounted car insurance rates to Americans over the Internet.
#5. AFLAC Talking Goose Insurance Commercials
AFLAC has had great success with their long running series of commercials featuring the AFLAC goose. Whenever a person in the commercial is trying to figure out where they can get good insurance, the goose runs by and honks AFLAC again and again. Most of the time the person hears the honking but does not understand it. These are unforgettable for the honking AFLAC! AFLAC is the biggest supplemental insurance provider in the United States.
#6. State Farm Magic Jingle Campaign
State Farm's ad campaign features various State Farm customers who are able to summon a State Farm claims representative simply by singing or reciting their famous jingle -- "Like a good neighbor, state farm is there!". One commercial shows three young men who not only get an agent to handle their claims, but also a hot tub and sandwich. This light-hearted campaign is a departure from State Farm's serious, no-nonsense ads featuring actor Dennis Haysbert.
#7. Geico's Dancing Grandpa and Other "Made in 15 Minutes" Commercials
Surprise! Geico simply has way more commercials than the competition, and they take the #7 spot.
In 2010, Geico rolled out another catchy and hilarious batch of television commercials. These commercials used computer animation. According to the narration in these ads, each of them was made in 15 minutes -- a reference to Geico's promise to provide quotes in 15 minutes.
The most memorable of these commercials featured a Grandpa character who sings "I'm Not Your Daddy, I'm Your Grandpa!"
Looking for more funny insurance commercials? Check out our new post!