AdMiration feature: GEICO’s "Star Treatment"

For this week’s AdMiration feature, we looked at consumer response to GEICO’s “Star Treatment” ad, part of the brand’s latest campaign and platform “It Feels Good to GEICO” starring famous athletes A.J. Brown and Emmitt Smith.

Read on to get our 3-2-1 snapshot of the ad (3 facts, 2 learnings and 1 reflection) and learn how their ad was received based on our data.

The ad opens to A.J. Brown, NFL wide receiver for the Philadelphia Eagles, running on a treadmill in a gym as a narrator comes in to say, “A.J. Brown is a football star, but he also has GEICO like a regular person. So we had one translate.”  

As the narrator finishes, a man named C.J., played by comedian Raphael Chestang, steps into the frame. 

A.J. (still running) says, “To achieve excellence, I imagine it, manifest it, and then BOOM!” which C.J. translates to, “Yeah, he saw one of those GEICO ads online” and A.J. adds, “Seized it” to which C.J. explains, “He switched to GEICO.”

A.J. continues, “Plus, GEICO’s like me, always open.” To which C.J. explains, “He means their 24/7 claim support.” A.J. repeats, “Always open!” and C.J. expands, “No one can cover him. Except GEICO.” 

The narrator comes back in to say, “You’re not A.J. Brown, but we’ll treat you like him. It feels good to get the star treatment. It feels good to GEICO.” 

The ad closes with “It feels good to GEICO” appearing on screen over the scene and a call to action to visit geico.com for a local agent.

3 facts

• This is a strong ad from GEICO that lands in the top 10% of US finance ads for its ability to drive short term sales (Sales Impact: 92) and the top 30% of US finance ads for its ability to drive brand equity over the long term (Brand Impact: 73). And this is even higher among those aged 36 and under! (Sales Impact: 99, Brand Impact: 96)

• All viewers found the spot to be both enjoyable (Enjoyment: 3.9 vs. 3.7 norm) and more distinctive than other finance ads (Distinctiveness: 3.8 vs. 3.6 norm), creating a more emotional connection, particularly for a finance ad, that allows the ad to be noticed and remembered. 

• The ad does a wonderful job at communicating the key message that GEICO offers dependable support around the clock in a clear, believable and positive manner (Key Message Clarity: 4.3 vs. 3.8 norm), (Key Message Believability: 4.2 vs. 3.8 norm) that's well-received by all.

2 learnings

• Finance ads can still be entertaining! We’ve seen a handful of finance companies bringing humor and positive emotions into their advertising recently, challenging the notion that finance ads need to remain serious or rational. And this ad from GEICO does an excellent job at delivering information in a way that it doesn't feel like information, rather a dialogue that is amusing, entertaining and ultimately memorable! In addition to clearly communicating their key messaging, GEICO proves that just because it can be more difficult to engage people with an intangible product or a category people don't typically get excited about, it doesn’t mean it’s impossible to create a fun (or funny) ad. This approach helps them stand out among other ads in the industry and stick with viewers because of how it made them feel, with many noting the emotional appeal (7%) and humor (6%) as their key drivers for why they liked the ad — also a core goal of the brand’s overall campaign.

• You don’t have to knock it out of the park for everyone to have an impactful ad. Sometimes an ad resonates better with one audience more than another. And that’s not a negative thing! While this spot was still well-received by all, it had an even greater impact on those ages 36 and under. After watching, this group felt even more positive toward the GEICO brand and that GEICO delivers what they need from an insurance brand, and had higher levels of both love and laughter throughout the entire ad (Brand Appeal: 4.2 for adults under 36 vs. 3.8 for total audience, Brand Meets Needs: 4.3 for adults under 36 vs. 4.0 for total audience, Love: 49% for adults under 36 vs. 23% for total audience), which means the GEICO brand made a stronger impression on adults under 36 in this ad — an even greater win for a finance ad trying to reach younger generations, with some sharing: “I like how it uses the "always open" wordplay to bridge the gap between A. J. Brown's legendary ability to get open on the football field and GEICO’s 24/7 customer service” and "I like A.J. Brown, it made me watch the ad so now I remember it’s GEICO and can check them out."

1 reflection

Are you being intentional about the celebrity choice in your advertising based on current or upcoming events? When done well, bringing celebrities into your ads can be a great addition, but if they tie into timely moments it can make it even better. Remember, celebrities are best used in advertising when: 

1. They are relevant to the brand and brand message

2. They are used when they matter most (Think: timely moments)

3. They are used to help tell a story about the brand in an engaging way

In this case, GEICO’s ad was released during football season and in the lead up to the Super Bowl, so featuring a professional football player like A.J. Brown made sense as he would likely be more top of mind for people during this time. And on top of that, A.J. Brown is an actual GEICO customer, so the connection makes sense for the brand and helps make the connection to their “always open” message that they are always there to give you the star treatment (celeb or not). As some shared: "I liked how they used the coverage thing by showing someone who's hard to cover in the NFL." and "I like the translator and I like the fact they used a celebrity that has the service, showing he is just like a regular person."

GEICO's campaign is part of their broader "It Feels Good to GEICO" brand platform that launched in late 2025, created by GEICO and The Martin Agency.

The campaign features athletes like A.J. Brown and Emmitt Smith to highlight GEICO's 24/7 claims support and customer service, by showing that they treat everyone like a star with "star treatment" — emphasizing value beyond just saving money and focusing on a more emotional side, with the idea of value as something you feel, not something that you calculate.

Tom Perlozzo, GEICO’s senior director of marketing brand and creative, shares, “GEICO has been a category disruptor from the start. In 1936, we pioneered the direct-to-consumer model, making insurance more accessible and affordable for millions of Americans. Since then, we’ve helped people save money and get more value from their insurance company. Now, we’re shifting from value as a transaction to value as a feeling.”

Sialoren Spaulding, senior director of marketing brand and creative at GEICO, expands, “Today, value goes beyond price. It means feeling seen, supported, and valued. So, we’re building on our legacy by shifting to something even more powerful: a brand that makes you feel valued across every touchpoint. Whether it’s for Auto, Home, Motorcycle, or any number of reasons, people choose GEICO for their insurance needs. We’re reinforcing a simple point: It should feel good to be with your insurance company. And with GEICO, it does.”

The campaign will run across TV, online video, social, audio and out-of-home channels through 2026.

This was a truly humorous spot from GEICO, especially leading up to the Super Bowl, landing in the top 10% of US finance ads for its ability to drive short term sales (Sales Impact: 92) and the top 30% of US finance ads for its ability to drive brand equity over the long term (Brand Impact: 73). 

And the ad was even more well-received by those ages 36 and under! (Sales Impact: 99, Brand Impact: 96)

Diving deeper, “Star Treatment” is seen as very distinctive for a finance ad, allowing it to drive reach and be noticed and remembered (Distinctiveness: 3.8 vs. 3.6 norm, Brand Distinctiveness 3.6 vs. 3.5 norm).

And the ad successfully conveys the brand’s key message that GEICO offers dependable support around the clock, which is seen as clear (Key Message Clarity: 4.3 vs. 3.8 norm) and believable (Key Message Believability: 4.2 vs. 3.8 norm) by all. 

Some people describe the message as: 

• "They are open 24/7 and always there for you."

• "It was all about the coverage and 24 hour support."

• "Geico is open 24/7 to help you with all of your insurance needs."

• "Geico insurance is easy, reliable, saves money."

Again, this has an even higher impact among those ages 36 and under! While the ad still makes the overall audience feel positive toward the GEICO brand and feel that GEICO delivers what they need from an insurance brand, adults under 36 feel much more strongly in these two areas (Brand Appeal: 4.2 for adults under 36 vs. 3.8 for total audience, Brand Meets Needs: 4.3 for adults under 36 vs. 4.0 for total audience), which drives home that the GEICO brand made an even stronger impression on adults under 36 in this ad.

And this continues to carry through with how relevant and enjoyable viewers find the ad to be. This spot resonates more strongly with adults under 36, who enjoy it more (Enjoyment: 4.2 vs. 3.9 for total audience) and find it even more relevant (Relevance: 4.0 vs. 3.6 for total audience), perhaps the strongest area for this ad.

Unsurprisingly, the ad also resonates emotionally more with adults under 36. When we look at what audiences felt second-by-second, adults under 36 have higher levels of both love and laughter throughout the ad compared to adults 36+.

As soon as the ad begins, adults under 36 have an immediate spike of love when the narrator says “A.J. Brown is a football star.” Adults 36+ have a similar spike of love here, but much smaller. Younger adults start laughing when A.J. Brown starts speaking in athlete-coded language and have their biggest spike of laughter when he says that GEICO is like him, “always open” — indicating that they get the reference and find it funny, compared to older audiences who don’t laugh as much on that line. Younger audiences also have a bigger spike of love at the end when the GEICO logo comes on screen.

Those 36+ have their highest spike of laughter when CJ translates with “no one can cover him… except GEICO."

It’s worth noting that given the younger people liked the appearance of A.J. Brown more than older people (Celebrity Appeal: 4.3 compared to 3.9 for the overall audience), it’s clear that younger adults are more familiar with A.J. Brown and what he’s known for — so it makes sense they find the ad funnier and love it more. 

Digging deeper into what people liked most about the ad, they most commonly shared the people and characters (7%), celebrity A.J. Brown (7%) and the emotional appeal (7%), with humor also noted by 6% of respondents. 

Here’s what some people had to say: 

• "I liked how they used the coverage thing by showing someone who's hard to cover in the NFL."

• "I like how it uses the "always open" wordplay to bridge the gap between A. J. Brown's legendary ability to get open on the football field and GEICO’s 24/7 customer service."

• "I like the translator and I like the fact they used a celebrity that has the service, showing he is just like a regular person."

• "I like A.J. Brown, it made me watch the ad so now I remember it’s GEICO and can check them out."

• "I like that it is discussed that you will receive star treatment and great customer service."

• "A. J. Brown running on a treadmill, it's funny that a guy translates what Brown says."

• "It was clever and somewhat memorable, although I am not familiar with the NFL player.”

What an entertaining spot from GEICO to get us into the Super Bowl spirit! What did you think? Let us know by interacting with our coverage of the ad on LinkedIn.

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