Atlanta-based IQ Agency launched a series of spots for Geico, notable for seeing the brand bypass longtime agency partner The Martin Agency.
Each of the four 15-second spots deals with a questionable strategy for cuttings costs at the office. In “Sharing an Office,” for example, a new employee is shown “his” office, the catch being that he’s sharing the room with at least seven coworkers. Other spots show “bad savings ideas” like “Selling the Projector” and “Verbal Email,” with each spot contrasting the bad ideas with switching to Geico, as a “good savings idea.” Some of these cost-cutting measures are easier to swallow than others as the verbal emails schtick, which unfortunately gets two spots, comes across as a step too far into unbelievability, since any modern business needs an internet connection to function, begging the question as to how exactly that is going to save money. The business setting is a bit unusual for the brand, which typically markets its personal auto insurance, although Adweek points out that Geico does sell business policies through partner companies.
“We’re just coming out of a recession where companies big and small tried to save money in a million small ways, often to the chagrin of their employees,” IQ executive creative director Clark Moses said in a statement, explaining the approach.
IQ CEO Tony Quin told Adweek there was no pitch process for the assignement, adding, “I think they were just seeing what’s out there and they gave us a chance. It’s not every day a big brand gives a small agency a shot and I’m of course delighted at the performance of my team.”
“I don’t believe there is any dissatisfaction at all [at Geico] with the Martin Agency,” Quin clarified, so don’t expect a review anytime soon. Of the assignment, Quin said the agency “couldn’t be happier to have the opportunity to swing a bat at one of the great commercial franchises.”