Who is the Voice of the Geico Gecko?

As the first installment of our Voice of series, we are excited to bring you a behind-the-scenes look at one of the most famous recurring commercial voice over roles, the Geico Gecko.

As an iconic figure in American popular culture, the Geico Gecko has a unique history all its own. Whether the Gecko is playing golf, wailing for help on the side of the road, or making a human connection with a group of bikers at a barbeque joint, this iconic figure remains memorable and humorous.

Geico’s Storied History

The Geico insurance company began in 1936 at the tail end of the Great Depression by Leo and Lillian Goodwin. Geico is an acronym that stands for Government Employees Insurance Company.

They intended to focus their marketing and client base on government employees and their families as well as members of the armed forces. Throughout the rest of the 20th century, the company continued to grow, attracting the attention of business mogul, Warren Buffet.

Buffet’s company, Berkshire Hathaway, made a bid for Geico in 1995. After securing the company in 1996, Geico experienced transformational growth. In an attempt to boost sales of Policies in Force (PiF), the company ignited its marketing creativity.

In the latter half of the 1990s, the company’s marketing budget erupted– its focus was on mail, radio, and television advertisements.

The Geico Gecko

Enter the Geico Gecko. In the 2000 television season, the Gecko made its first appearance as a reluctant spokescreature trying to clear up the sonic confusion of “Geico” and “gecko”. The Gecko has charmed the nation while preaching about the money there is to be saved by switching to Geico.

The famous tagline “15 minutes could save you 15% or more on your car insurance” is etched into the fabric of American insurance jargon, just the same as “coverage” or “bundling”.

Watch any number of the Gecko’s appearances throughout the last twenty years and discover the charm and dry wit that is served up in each sketch. There is a gentle sass that accompanies each setup and punchline which makes the Gecko an overall loveable character.

The Geico marketing team has set up the Gecko for the modern age by creating a full-fledged internet and television personality. With 28,000 followers on Instagram, Gecko is an influencer to watch. He takes his followers through his travels and shares memes while showing off the animal friends he’s made along the way.

The Geico Gecko’s website also features downloadable backgrounds for your phone so that customers and Gecko fans alike can take part in the fun.

For more than 20 years, the Gecko has traveled the nation in the realm of commercials and real life. In 2007, the Gecko went on tour with a nationwide gecko exhibit that informed and promoted nature conservation.

Geico’s other spokespeople and creatures including ‘The Caveman’ and the ‘Geico Duck’, which appeared for the first time around the same time as the Gecko, have gained popularity and laughs along the way. The Gecko remains the most popular and cared-for mascot for the company.

Who is the Voice of the Geico Gecko?

The Geico Gecko has been voiced by several different voice actors since its inception in 1999. Each actor has been charged with the essential job of bringing the character to life and giving him a voice.

These iconic voices include Richard Steven Horvitz, Kelsey Grammer, Thomas Bromhead, Dave Kelly, and Andrew Randall. The current voice actor playing the role of the Gecko is Jake Wood.

Wood is an English actor who starred in the long-running series ‘East Enders’ until 2021, and several films including ‘The Illusionist’ (2006), ‘Vera Drake’ (2004), and ‘Red Dwarf’ (1999).

Wood has developed Gecko’s character through several expressive and successful iterations, from yelling on the side of the road about a flat tire to quietly informing the viewer about how to save with Geico’s insurance offerings.

The Accent

While the baton has been handed down through several different actors, one main thread of consistency is the Gecko’s accent. Though the accent itself has had multiple evolutions between voice actors.

The initial accent in the first iteration of the Gecko in 1999, voiced by Grammer, was a stiff British accent that waned occasionally into a plain American accent.

Wood’s Gecko is known to be more of a cockney accent, an accent associated with the working-class people of London. Though according to legend, one can only truly be considered cockney if they were born on the East End of the city and within ear’s reach of the bells of St. Mary-le-Bow church in Cheapside, London. As to where the Gecko himself is from, that is a mystery.

As to why the Gecko, who represents an American insurance company does not have an American accent, the jury is still out on that one.

While other Geico commercial advertising campaigns have appeared, the most popular and longest-running is the famed Gecko. The Gecko has reached celebrity status.

The Future of the Geico Gecko

As Geico continues to grow as a company, the Geico Gecko looks to have a promising future. It is truly impressive to look back at the journey this character has traveled.

By arranging the Gecko as the main touchpoint of Geico’s marketing strategy, the limits seem endless. The character’s unique accent and personality afford it boundless potential to move about and think in real-time and in the real world as if it exists.

While Wood is the longest-running voice actor to bring the Gecko to life, there may be future opportunities for other voice talents to try out their rendition of the Gecko’s famous accented, insurance-selling personality.

We can only imagine what adventures are in store for the Geico Gecko. Will he be launched into outer space, sing on the Broadway stage, or become the president of the United States? Only time and the imagination of the marketing team at Geico know for sure.

Looking for voices similar to the Geico Gecko? Check out our animated voice actors on the World’s #1 voice marketplace today.

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Keaton Robbins

Keaton is a former editor and journalist for the Toronto and Ottawa Sun. He’s told stories for Leafs TV, NBA TV Canada and TSN. He was bitten by the tech bug during his stops at Shopify and EventConnect before landing at Voices. Keaton graduated from Humber College’s Journalism program, specializing in Television and Online Media.

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