Geico’s unskippable advert

Washington, US – Insurance company Geico’s latest ad is one you won’t want to skip on YouTube.

• 94% of pre-roll is skipped as soon as possible, according to Adweek
• The Martin Agency created the ad to play on this viewer behaviour
• After five seconds the actors freeze-frame with unseen consequences

Family by The Martin Agency attempts to tackle the fact that 94% of pre-roll adverts get skipped after the first five seconds. Rather than getting viewers to take their finger off the mouse pad through shock value or catchy FX, Geico sticks the proverbial tongue out and announces, ‘You can’t skip this ad because it’s already over.’ Instead, the advert focuses on the so-called ‘dead’ time after those precious few seconds. The actors, stuck in a self-induced freeze-frame, come under attack from the family dog, who, unconstrained by human notions of time or acting simply helps himself to dinner.

The Big Picture: think about how you can tap into Frustration Marketing as a way to challenge consumers into engaging with your brand.