Sometimes I wonder if auto insurance is so expensive because insurance companies spend such a ridiculous amount of money on advertising. Statista.com reported the top three brands (Geico, Progressive and State Farm) spent a combined total of nearly 3 BILLION in advertising in 2019. Allstate, Liberty Mutual and USAA advertising dollars account for nearly another billion.

Not all of those billions are spent on TV ads. Some goes to print ads and digital marketing or direct mail, although television is where most of us became familiar with the Geico Cavemen, Flo from Progressive and Jake from State Farm.

Michael Foth ~ Townsquare Media Billings
Michael Foth ~ Townsquare Media Billings
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When the production company for 'Restaurant: Impossible' was in Billings last year, we thought it was interesting that some of the camera trucks and crew members (who were staying in our hotel and parking lot) hung around in Billings for nearly a week after the episode finished taping. They were shooting something in the parking garage across the street when we cornered a staffer and asked what they were doing. They told us "filming a Geico commercial."

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We completely forgot about that little tidbit until we came across a new Geico commercial today that appears to be filmed entirely in Montana. The spot is the latest in Geico's series of motorcycle insurance ads that feature the Foundations 1968 hit 'Build Me Up Buttercup'. In the latest spot, the main character (named Carl) is shown riding his motorcycle up Beartooth Pass's famous twisty curves, singing along to the words of the song.

 

The ad then cuts to Carl running the line striping machine at Dehler Park, where instead of making nice, straight lines, he's swerved all over the ballpark like a drunken maniac. Which is totally understandable... after all, he was daydreaming about riding his bike on one of the best motorcycle rides in the United States, instead of focusing on the job at hand.

Credit: Geico via Ispot.tv screengrab
Credit: Geico via Ispot.tv screengrab
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It's great seeing Montana featured on television, even if it's just :30 seconds. We'll probably start seeing more film productions in Montana, thanks in part to incentives passed by lawmakers in 2019, as reported by NPR.

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