Geico Cavemen To Appear In
ESPN's "SportsCenter" Ads
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Geico Cavemen To Appear
In "SportsCenter" Spots |
ESPN has tapped Geico's cavemen as "unconventional spokespeople for its flagship SportsCenter program and its fantasy football offerings," according to Jeremy Mullman of AD AGE. A deal between Geico and ESPN "casts the cavemen as fantasy-football salesmen, as well as stars of a series of vignettes promoting" the net's "SportsCenter" program. Terms of the deal were not disclosed, but Geico CMO Ted Ward said the cost of the yearlong deal was "significant." Horizon Media CEO Bill Koenigsberg, whose company is Geico's media agency, said, "ESPN is basically using an advertiser's icon to drive viewers to its shows. It's very unusual, but for these two brands we think it's a perfect fit." ESPN/ABC Sports Consumer Marketing & Sales President Ed Erhardt said that the cavemen "will appear on ESPN's TV, print, digital and radio channels." Erhardt added that the cavemen "will be doing their usual, inferiority-complex-driven shtick in their appearances for ESPN." Mullman noted Geico's brand will make "some appearances in the creative," which is a product of a collaboration between ESPN's ad agency, Arnold Worldwide, and Geico's ad agency, the Martin Agency. Koenigsberg "hinted that Geico might be pursuing similar integration deals on other cable networks with its other mascot, the Geico gecko" (ADAGE.com, 8/14).
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