The Martin Agency launched a new spot in its ongoing “It’s What You Do” campaign for Geico featuring a new mom character, played by actress Cindy Drummond, who always calls at the worst possible times (a well-known stereotype, to say the least).
Then the agency created a bunch more ads with the character, because if you’re The Martin Agency and you have an idea for Geico, you repeat it over and over again.
It’s what you do.
To be fair, it’s easy to see why The Martin Agency can’t get enough of the character. Drummond plays the role very well and with such a well-worn, relatable trope, the spots practically write themselves. The character is introduced in the familiar “It’s What You Do” formula when she interrupts her son (who happens to be a spy) with a phone call about how “the squirrels are back in the attic” but “your dad won’t call an exterminator.” But the agency also created a series of 15-second “Momversations” spots, with the character asking what hipsters and hashtags are, breaking the news about the family cat (which may have been the oldest in Florida), discussing a sister’s tattoo and more.
“My mom is guilty of this,” The Martin Agency senior copywriter Ken Marcus told Adweek. “She’s always calling at the worst time. I guess if you’re a retiree, you forget things like work hours.”
“She’s a better writer than I am,” Marcus said of Drummond. “She kept giving us so much fun material. It would have been a shame to leave that all behind on a hard drive somewhere.”
“We had to do a lot of extra takes on the line, ‘Your father was attacked by a big angry beaver,’ ” added creative director Sean Riley. “Cindy cracked up every time.”
It’s a shame we don’t have an outtake video of that.
Credits:
Client: Geico
Vice President, Marketing: Ted Ward
Director, Marketing: Bill Brower
Senior Manager, Marketing: Melissa Halicy
Marketing Supervisor: Mike Grant
Marketing Buyer: Tom Perlozzo
Marketing Buyer: Brighid Griffin
Marketing Buyer: Katherine Kalec
Marketing Specialist: Julia Nass
Agency: The Martin Agency
Chief Creative Officer: Joe Alexander
Group Creative Director: Wade Alger
Group Creative Director: Steve Bassett
Creative Director: Sean Riley
Senior Copywriter: Ken Marcus
Executive Producer: Brett Alexander
Senior Broadcast Producer: Heather Tanton
Junior Broadcast Producer: Sara Montgomery
Group Account Director: Brad Higdon
Account Executive: Jon Glomb
Account Executive: Allison Hensley
Account Coordinator: Allie Waller
Business Affairs Supervisor: Suzanne Wieringo
Financial Account Supervisor: Monica Cox
Senior Production Business Manager: Amy Trenz
Project Manager: Karen McEwen
Production Company: Hungry Man
Director: Wayne McClammy
Managing Partner/Executive Producer: Kevin Byrne
Executive Producer/Head of Sales: Dan Duffy
Executive Producer: Mino Jarjoura
Executive Producer: Nancy Hacohen
Producer: Dave Bernstein
Production Supervisor: Shelly Silverman
Editorial Company: Rock Paper Scissors
Editor: Christjan Jordan
Assistant Editor: Pieter Viljoen
Executive Producer: Angela Dorian
Producer: Helena Lee
Telecine: Moving Picture Company
Colorist: Ricky Gausis
Animation/VFX: Moving Picture Company
Executive Producer: Elexis Stearn
Senior Producer: Juliet Tierney
Production Coordinator: Valentina Cokonis
Line Producer: Goutham Hampankatta
Flame Lead: Mark Holden
Nuke Artist: Janice Tso
Nuke Artist: Jim Spratling
VFX Supervisor/Head of 3D: Jason Schugardt
Lead Lighter: Tim Kafka
Render/Look Dev: Jessica Groom
DMP: Partha Modal
3D Supervisor: Nishanth Shrinivasa
Original Music and Sound Design: Q Department
Audio Post Company: Rainmaker Studios
Engineer/Mixer: Jeff McManus