Most people get frustrated when ads interrupt their favorite movies or TV shows. The reality is that commercials can be a real bore, but every now and then one of them achieves legendary status. Take Coca-Cola’s New Year commercials, for example – people actually look forward to those every year because they capture the holiday magic so perfectly.
Another commercial that achieved remarkable fame and cult-like status is Geico’s ‘The Caveman,’ which first aired in 2004. It features a prehistoric man as part of a pitch to sell car insurance. The company reportedly poured around $600 million into advertising and commercials in 2006 alone, but ‘The Caveman’ became such a massive hit that every dollar was likely worth it. The creative force behind it was The Martin Agency, which managed Geico’s advertising campaigns for many years. According to The New York Times, the agency’s philosophy has always been to ‘wrap an easy-way-to-save-money pitch in humor on the theory that laughter is almost as universal as lack of interest in car insurance.’
Creative director Steve Bassett admitted they knew the commercial would land well, but nobody anticipated just how far and wide it would spread.
The man underneath all that prehistoric makeup is actor and producer John Lehr. The matted hair, grimy appearance, furrowed brow, and Neanderthal-like features were all the work of an expert makeup team. In real life, Lehr is a strikingly good-looking guy and a proud father of two.
His path into the entertainment world started long before this commercial came along. Lehr was working as a teacher at Kilmer Elementary School in Rogers Park, Chicago, Illinois, while performing improv shows at night on the side. During one of those performances, a FOX scout spotted him and handed him a holding deal with NBC worth $15,000.
It felt like something out of a dream, as it flung the doors of Hollywood wide open for him. Among his many credits, he appeared in a single episode of the beloved sitcom Friends in 1996, and played a role in 22 episodes of the show Jesse alongside Christina Applegate, with whom he later reunited for the romantic comedy The Sweetest Thing.
In 2004, Lehr got the call to audition for ‘The Caveman,’ and he wasn’t expecting much from it. ‘I thought, Huh, okay. I didn’t think much about it. Went in, did it. They let me improvise,’ Lehr shared in an interview with Chicago Now. ‘I think that’s what got me the job. It was really fascinating and fun and paid my bills.’
Once he landed the role, Lehr’s caveman character practically became a celebrity overnight. Suddenly, everybody was talking about the commercial.
‘It’s the perfect job for somebody like me, a character actor, because I make a lot of money on these commercials and nobody knows it’s me,’ he told Interviewing Hollywood.
‘It kind of fit with my sense of humor, in that it’s kind of, you play it for real but it’s totally absurd, which is basically my cup of tea. And it worked out.’
‘I’m stunned…I mean, it’s huge! My wife just recently googled GEICO caveman blogs, and it’s unbelievable,’ he added.
‘There’s a whole bunch of people out there who are fascinated with these commercials.’
The commercial launched Lehr’s career into an entirely different stratosphere. He even attended the Oscars, though not as himself. He showed up fully transformed as The Caveman.
‘They sent me to the Oscars in full makeup and cast a babe model to be my date on the Red Carpet,’ he recalled in a Forbes interview.
‘The funny thing was that all the stars wanted to take pictures with me. Gary Busey, John Voight, all of them. And this gorgeous actress comes up and starts hitting on me. I drop character and say, You realize I’m not really a caveman. I’m an actor with hair glued on, and I’m married. She goes, I don’t care. Let’s have sex.’
Today, Lehr runs his own production company called Howler Monkey Productions, and in addition to acting, he has built a solid career as a producer as well.
Lehr is happily married to his wife Jennifer Lehr, and together they have a son and a daughter.
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