Insurers Spend Heavily On Ads, Rely On Mascots

One of the trends in insurance company advertising has been the increased use of mascots in advertising.

This trend started in 1999 when GEICO insurance decided to break away from traditionally boring insurance ads and introduced the Gecko.

The Gecko was the first and still resonates with consumers as it was chosen the most popular insurance ad mascot in a recent survey.

The tagline that GEICO introduced at the same time, ‘GEICO -- 15 minutes could save you 15% or more on car insurance,’ and still uses today, is credited with lifting the company from No. 7 in auto insurance sales to No. 2.

Flo from Progressive is towards the top of the list. She and the AFLAC Duck have both been featured in their companies’ ads for more than 20 years.