The Martin Agency Revisits ‘Camels’ for Geico

By Erik Oster 

According to Adweek, The Martin Agency’s “Hump Day” ad for Geico was the brand’s most viral ever, so it’s no surprise that the agency (who have been known to recycle its ideas for the brand) riffs on the spot’s popularity in its latest ad, entitled “Camels.”

The painfully self-referential spot is set in a zoo, where a group of camels are relentlessly barraged with shouts of “What day is it?” and “Hump day!” from visitors. One of the camels remarks glumly that it isn’t even Wednesday, followed by the voiceover announcing, “If you’re a camel, you put up with this all the time. It’s what you do. If you want to save fifteen percent or more on car insurance, it’s what you do.”

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While the “Hump Day” character was ubiquitous enough to make the ad’s reference obvious, imagining that throes of people loved a previous campaign enough to harass camels over it comes across as more than a tad self-congatulatory. And like a lot of Geico schticks, the joke has long since worn itself out, making trotting it out once again here (new self-referential spin and all) feel tired.

Credits:

Client: Geico
Vice President, Marketing: Ted Ward
Manager, Broadcast Production and Agency Relations: Amy Hooks
Marketing Planner: Amy Ruddell
Marketing Coordinator: Katherine Kalec
Marketing Coordinator: Tom Perlozzo

Agency: The Martin Agency, Richmond, Va.
Chief Creative Officer: Joe Alexander
SVP/Group Creative Director: Steve Bassett
SVP/Group Creative Director: Wade Alger
SVP/Creative Director/Art Director: Sean Riley
Senior Copywriter: Ken Marcus
VP/Agency Executive Broadcast Producer: Molly Schaaf
Bid/Prep/Shoot/Edit Producer: Alex Scheer-Payne
VFX/Finishing Producer: Sam Tucker
Agency Junior Producer: Emily Taylor
Business Affairs Supervisor: Suzanne Wieringo
Senior Integrated Production Business Manager: Amy Trenz
SVP/ Group Account Director: Brad Higdon
Account Supervisor: Parker Collins
Account Executive: Meg Ingraham
Senior Project Manager: Jason Ray

Production Company: Hungry Man
Director: Wayne McClammy
Director of Photography: Bryan Newman
Executive Producer: Mino Jarjoura
Producer: Nate Young

Editorial Company: Mackenzie Cutler
Editor: Ian MacKenzie
Assistant Editor: Nick Divers
Executive Producer: Sasha Hirschfield
Editorial Producer: Evan Meeker

Telecine: The Mill
Colorist: Fergus McCall

Audio Post Company: Rainmaker Studios
Engineer: Jeff McManus

Camels:
Animation,VFX, Conform: The Mill
CG Leads: Kevin Ives, Sandor Toledo
Lead Compositor: Randy McEntee
Executive Producer: Colin Blaney
Producer: Sumer Zuberi
VFX Supervisor: John Leonti

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