Will Arnett Shares Screen Time With Geico's Gecko

They say actors shouldn’t work with animals, as critters tend to upstage human performers. But Will Arnett throws caution to the wind for Geico and The Martin Agency, co-starring with the gecko in a a dinner-party scenario launching this week. (Sure, it’s a CGI lizard. But still.)

“I need to introduce you to someone,” the hostess begins. “He was telling me how Geico makes it easy to save on homeowners’ insurance.”

Turns out she’s speaking to the gecko about Arnett. The two aren’t thrilled to meet, as they share some bad history, apparently.

You’re a gecko’s second banana. Maybe it’s time for a new agent?

Srsly though, the spot’s diverting, its humor nicely understated. That fits the brand’s ethos and Arnett’s persona. Can’t have things getting too wacky. That’s more a Jon Hamm meets Flo from Progressive kinda vibe.

Tenures on Arrested Development and BoJack Horseman give Arnett considerable pop-culture clout. Presumably, Will brings Geico some extra buzz and heightened appeal among fans of edgy cult entertainment.

Martin creative directors Kim Nguyen and Kate Placentra offered some campaign insights:

Showing a new side of the gecko.

“He’s appeared in 100s of ads over 20+ years,” Nguyen and Placentra tell Muse. “But we actually don’t know that much about him. So we were really excited to show some of his backstory. By introducing a character like a frenemy, we get the chance to see the Gecko in a new light. He’s a little more human than we assumed.”

On casting Will Arnett.

“Will has this incredible gift of making you like unlikable characters,” the CDs say. “In a way, he is America’s favorite frenemy, even though he’s Canadian. And Will was immediately ready to mess around and try things, so he brought so much to the campaign. Honestly, once he said yes, there was no one else who could be the gecko’s frenemy.”

The concept will play out across social.

“Since the Gecko is a pop-culture icon in his own right, having a celebrity be his friend and/or frenemy makes sense,” they say. “We see these kinds of celebrity relationships play out on social all the time. Like, ‘Are they friends? Are they not friends? Did they just unfollow each other?’ So we’re especially curious to see how the internet picks up on Will and the gecko’s social banter. There are a few fun things we’re dropping later to keep their gentle-teasing-beef alive.”

Evolving the campaign for the long haul.

“We can’t wait to see where we can go with the Gecko next. Do we meet his mom? Or his cousin? Or his college roommate? What else will we learn about our favorite spokes-lizard?”

CREDITS

CHIEF CREATIVE OFFICER: DANNY ROBINSON
EXECUTIVE CREATIVE DIRECTOR: ASHLEY MARSHALL
GROUP CREATIVE DIRECTOR: NEEL WILLIAMS
CREATIVE DIRECTOR, COPY: KIM NGUYEN
CREATIVE DIRECTOR, ART: KATE PLACENTRA
 
HEAD OF PRODUCTION: BRETT ALEXANDER
EXECUTIVE PRODUCER: HEATHER COLLIER
PRODUCER: SANA SOURIVONGS
BUSINESS AFFAIRS DIRECTOR: SUZANNE WIERINGO
BUSINESS AFFAIRS MANAGER: LAUREN GARRETT
FINANCIAL AFFAIRS MANAGER: AMY TRENZ
PROJECT MANAGER: HEATHER HARTMAN
 
VP, ACCOUNT DIRECTOR: JON GLOMB
ACCOUNT SUPERVISOR: ROBERT CLARK
 
PRODUCTION CO: CAVIAR
DIRECTOR: MAGGIE CAREY
DP: BRYAN NEWMAN
LINE PRODUCER: BP COOPER
EXECUTIVE PRODUCER: KIM DELLARA
 
EDIT CO: ARCADE EDIT                       
EDITOR: SEAN LAGRANGE
ASSISTANT EDITOR: PAULO MIRAMONTES
PRODUCER: KIRSTEN THON-WEBB
 
TELECINE: COMPANY3 N.Y.
COLORIST: TIM MASICK
PRODUCER: RYAN MONCRIEF
HEAD OF PRODUCTION: KEVIN BREHENY
 
VFX/ANIMATION/GFX: FRAMESTORE N.Y.
VFX SUPERVISOR: WILL FRAZIER
SENIOR PRODUCER: SUE MCNAMARA
                                                                                                                                                                               
MUSIC CO (Dinner Party): TEMPEST ORIGINAL
EXECUTIVE PRODUCER: IAN JEFFREYS
MUSICOLOGIST: ANDY WILBUR / MUSIODATA
                               
MIX COMPANY: RAINMAKER
MIXER: JEFF MCMANUS
MIXER: MICHAEL O’CONNOR
PRODUCER: CLINTON SPELL II
EXECUTIVE PRODUCER: KRISTIN O’CONNOR
 
GEICO CLIENT 
Damon Burrell- CMO
Michelle Moscone- VP, Creative and Content
Gary Aurand- Sr. Director, Creative and Content
Tom Perlozzo- Sr. Manager, Marketing
Allison Eckert- Supervisor II, Marketing