Netflix and Geico team up for ‘Leo’ co-branded ad tier campaign

Since Netflix’s ad tier launch last year, its leadership has repeatedly drilled its “crawl, walk, run” approach to ad capabilities—that the streamer was perfecting the basics before moving on to more creative marketing possibilities. Now, Netflix has taken its first steps toward becoming the advertising platform marketers have been craving. The streamer recently partnered with Geico to create co-branded marketing for the release of its animated film “Leo.” The lead spot is the first time Netflix has partnered with a brand to create custom content for its own ad tier, and puts the Geico gecko on the set of “Leo” opposite the film’s own lead lizard. Longtime Geico agency of record The Martin Agency led the campaign. The spot plays like a faux behind-the-scenes feature for the musical about an elderly classroom lizard on a mission to escape his cage, but ends up helping the class’s students overcome their own hardships along the way. Voiced by Adam Sandler, Leo breaks from shooting a scene in which he burps up a moth only to slurp it right back down. The camera zooms out to show the Geico gecko observing the shoot. The gecko says he’s visiting his fellow lizard as a seasoned on-camera star, and offers a vocal warmup: “Betty bundled her happy home and cozy car,” the Geico gecko recites. But Leo is shopping for flies to snack on instead of listening. When the Geico gecko suggests they lower the lights to highlight Leo’s green scales, the sudden darkness paralyzes Leo. “Making a movie is tough, but it’s easy to Geico,” a narrator says at the end of the spot. The campaign also features unique out-of-home and social assets. A duo of billboards in Chicago frame the Damen Avenue Bridge with the Geico Gecko on one sign, and Leo on the other. “Want life advice? See his movie,” states one billboard showing the Gecko gesturing to the other side of the highway. “Want insurance advice? See him,” says the other with Leo pointing at the Gecko. And faux paparazzi shots showing the Geico Gecko and Leo out on the streets with a cup of coffee and goofing off on a hike will be shared on social media. The campaign will run through December. Also read: The 9 most popular insurance ad characters, ranked The collaboration with Netflix Marketing Partnerships was created with production company Framestore Pictures and animation studio Animal Logic. “Leo” premiered on Nov. 21 and pulled in 34.6 million views in its first six days, according to Netflix. Brands have often included Netflix fan favorites in their advertising: Last year, Domino’s featured “Stranger Things” characters in a campaign that used a phone app to let users order pizza with their minds, while General Motor’s 2023 Super Bowl ad sent Will Ferrell on a drive through the streamer’s hits, including “Squid Game,” “Queer Eye” and “Bridgerton.” “For years, we’ve partnered with admired brands on creative campaigns that live up to the entertainment value of Netflix’s IP,” said Magno Herran, VP of marketing partnerships at Netflix, via email. “Now, with our ad-supported plan, we can offer brands the opportunity to run these campaigns on our service. Bringing the iconic Geico Gecko together with the new reptile on the block Leo, is a great example of delivering more entertaining ad experiences for members and more contextually relevant messages for advertisers. While this is the first, we look forward to building more of these opportunities for our brand partners and members.” Advertisers have had a rocky relationship with Netflix’s ad tier thus far as the streamer has launched foundational tech and capabilities over the past year, and has been slow to grow its ad-supported user base. But buyers have warmed up to the streamer as it has slowly amped up its ad offering. Earlier this month, Netflix streamed the “Netflix Cup,” a live golf tournament featuring stars from its popular shows “Formula 1: Drive to Survive” and “Full Swing.” The live event featured sponsorship spots—Nespresso and T-Mobile were among the tournament’s sponsors—that put advertisers not just in front of Netflix’s reported 15 million global monthly active ad-tier users, but potentially its entire subscriber base. “Our goal isn’t just to offer the same products and tools the industry has come to expect…It’s to build something bigger and better than what exists today,” wrote recently named president of advertising Amy Reinhard in a blog post celebrating the ad tier’s one-year anniversary. “We want to shape the future of advertising on Netflix and help marketers tap into the amazing fandom generated by our must-watch shows and movies.”

Netflix and Geico team up on streamer’s first co-branded ad tier campaign

Featured Stories