5 The Geico Gecko - 1999

The original gecko concept was born out of a creative session at the Martin Agency, a Richmond, Va.-based advertising agency. At the time "GEICO" was often mispronounced--"GEICO" became "gecko"--and a doodle of a small gecko appeared on a napkin. From that doodle came a storyboard for a commercial featuring a green gecko standing at a podium announcing that he is "a gecko, not to be confused with GEICO."