He-Man and Skeletor, Advertising’s New Comedy Duo, Just Popped Up in a Geico Spot

He-Man and his often-memed nemesis Skeletor face off in this new animated commercial for Geico, as part of its “Great Answers” series of ads.

Produced by The Martin Agency and animated by SNL alum J.J. Sedelmaier (which explains the resemblance to TV Funhouse), the spot sees Skeletor cornered by He-Man and his cronies, only to escape after telling them the usual spiel about saving money on his car insurance. I suppose that carries over to his jetpack, as well.

The spot, of course, is based on He-Man and the Masters of the Universe, the cartoon that ran from 1983 to 1985 and was itself was based on the Mattel toys. This new Geico spot was made in partnership with Mattel.

The deconstruction of inelegant 1980s cartoons on display here is very Adult Swim, and serves Geico’s brand and marketing tone pretty well. It also stands out nicely amid the sometimes schizophrenic array of Geico ads that all basically say the same thing.

This is thanks almost entirely to Skeletor. Really, He-Man nostalgia—which is weirdly popular in advertising right now, following that live-action MoneySuperMarket spot from earlier this month—really cements what a fun and charismatic villain Skeletor was (the “Yes!” at 0:20 made me snort).

I could watch him buzz around on that jetpack all day.

CREDITS
Client: Geico

J.J. Sedelmaier Productions, Inc. – White Plains NY
J.J. Sedelmaier – Animation Director/Producer
Andy Friz – Head Animator

The Martin Agency:
Chief Creative Officer – Joe Alexander
SVP Group Creative Director – Steve Bassett
VP Creative Director – Neel Williams
VP Creative Director – Justin Harris
SVP Executive Producer – Brett Alexander
Producer – Brian Fox
Jr. Producer – Catherine Kennedy