Insurance mascots. We’ve all seen them, we can’t run away from them. Just how we can’t run away from the need to have insurance! In this blog post, we will be ranking some of the most popular insurance mascots against three parameters:
Creativity: How original is this mascot?
Personability: How charismatic is this mascot?
Marketability: How effective is this mascot?
So without further ado, let’s get started!
The General®, from General Insurance
Creativity: While we have to give props to The General® for being an older mascot in a sea of animals, younglings, and animal younglings, his lack of discernible traits beyond his allegiance to his company leaves much to be desired. Cool mustache though!
Personability: Again, who IS The General®? He certainly has a serviceable personality, and he’s good enough with people to carry an entire insurance company, but we don’t know much else about him! If he seems like he’s in customer service mode 24/7, it’s most likely because he is.
Pictured: The General® with Shaq.
Marketability: However! We posit that The General®’s staying power is true. Much like being a veteran of war, he is a veteran of the insurance industry, and those who know of him have known him for a long time. His long-lasting legacy is not to be overlooked.
Final Rating:
Professor Burke, from Farmers Insurance
Creativity: In terms of creativity, we remain conflicted. On one hand, the idea of a snarky professor character isn’t one that immediately jumps out as exciting or even original. But on the other hand, Professor Burke is played so effortlessly by JK Simmons, we can’t help but be captivated.
Personability: Yes, much like The General®, his respective insurance company seems to take up most of his brain’s real estate. But did you know acclaimed Academy Award-winning actor JK Simmons plays him? No, we’re not biased!
Pictured: Professor Burke in Sesame Street.
Marketability: While his commercials don’t always reach the insane heights of some of his contemporaries, the professor is surely a man of quality. Well shot, snappy, and certainly well acted, Professor Burke is an excellent match for the company he represents.
Final Rating:
The Aflac Duck, from Aflac
Creativity: Duck.
Personability: He can only say one word, but that word speaks volumes.
Pictured: A very crunchy Aflac duck with the Looney Tunes.
Marketability: While we briefly mentioned “a sea of animals, younglings, and animal younglings,” you got to admit that a screaming duck is pretty funny. And comedy definitely sells! However, we already used all our bias points with the last mascot. So for the sake of balance, we’ll consider the possibility that screaming animals can be annoying to some (and that they’re not very original, probably should have included that in the creativity part).
Final Rating:
Mayhem, from Allstate
Creativity: When you really think about it, mascots that are just people are kind of weird. You’d normally expect something more traditional or cute, not some guy you could run into at the gas station. But Mayhem makes up for this by being the pure embodiment of chaos. His body is but a vessel, and perhaps not even his true form.
Personability: Mayhem is hilarious! When you’re not the butt of the joke. For the sorry souls who have to deal with him in his commercials, we truly hope they got some hefty Allstate insurance. But for the rest of us who watch from the safety of our devices, he’s simply mesmerizing. One person’s scripted and well-shot misery is another person’s comedy, after all.
Pictured: Absolute mayhem.
Marketability: Mayhem has one joke, the sheer chaos and danger his presence brings. It’s an easy to understand bit that brings the dark reality of why everyone needs insurance to mind, while keeping a comedic tone. It’s effective marketing, but he perhaps lacks the flexibility other character’s personalities allow for.
Final Rating:
Jake, from StateFarm
Creativity: Jake is just some dude. Unfortunately, the reason he’s so iconic is not because of his character, but because of the original commercial he was a part of.
Personability: However, Jake IS a cool dude. You have to be if you want to be an insurance company mascot, and he’s had several more commercials (and forms) ever since. But ultimately he’s still the same company rep we saw all those years ago, against war veterans, ducks, and the pure embodiment of chaos.
Pictured: Jake, as seen in NBA 2k22.
Marketability: Much like The General®, Jake from State Farm remains Jake from State Farm because of recognizability. He’s a legacy mascot, so you tend to overlook that he’s just some dude because your dad keeps telling you it’s the guy from the old commercials.
Final Rating:
Flo, from Progressive Insurance
Creativity: In a peculiarly human-mascot filled industry, Flo stands tall above them all. Although much like Professor Burke and Jake from State Farm her entire personality is devoted to her company, Flo is so ridiculously enraptured with the world of Progressive Insurance that she transcends the boundaries of brand representation. She’s basically Jake on steroids, talk about turning a weakness into a strength.
Personability: Much like Mayhem however, Flo’s antics are best enjoyed at a distance. Sometimes. The thing is, Flo is a loose canon. At one moment you can be having a pleasant conversation about your insurance plan, and at another moment the Kool-Aid man can come bursting through the wall. Approach with caution.
Pictured: OH, YEAAHH!
Marketability: Being one of the most iconic company mascots of all time, Flo’s staying power is true. She doesn’t just ride off her recognizability, she consistently makes an impression on newer viewers, so you don’t need to have your dad telling you how he remembers the old Flo commercials to appreciate her.
Final Rating:
The Gecko, from Geico
Creativity: Yes, he is another animal youngling in a sea of animal younglings, but we can’t help but give massive props for originality as there aren’t many amphibian mascots we can think of.
Personability: He’s definitely the most charismatic gecko we know! If he doesn’t win you over with just how darn adorable he is, he certainly will with his stories as he’s encountered basically everything pop-culture related.
Pictured: The Gecko in Portal???
Marketability: In our professional and totally qualified opinion, the Gecko is the ultimate insurance company mascot. He’s got the right combination of charisma, personality, recognizability, and connections, which makes you wonder why we complained about some of these features in the previous ratings. Perhaps we’re more biased than we’ve let on, but hey we’re approaching our word limit here.
The Gecko from Geico, ladies and gentlemen.
Final Rating:
