GIO is the safety mat all Australians need in new campaign

January 27, 2026 11:41

GIO is getting metaphorical in its latest campaign

Suncorp Group’s GIO has released a campaign to remind Australians that its insurance offerings are ready to support them, no matter what life throws at them.

Developed by creative agency Leo Australia, the campaign uses a large, red mat as a symbol of safety. The metaphor is carried further into the work’s visuals, with the mat replacing the “I” in GIO to transform “a single letter into a universally recognised symbol of protection and reassurance”. The platform’s tagline is “Great Insurance, Obviously”, playing off the brand’s acronym.

The campaign has three 15-second films detailing different scenarios — parallel parking, a thief attempting to break into a unit, and a storm ravaged house — where GIO is the solution to people’s insurance needs.

“Over the past century, GIO has built a reputation as an iconic NSW brand, trusted and reliable for our customers,” Suncorp Group’s executive general manager of brand and customer experience, Mim Haysom, said in a media release.

“With Great Insurance, Obviously, we’re giving the brand a fresh, unmistakably GIO feel demonstrating how we meet our customer expectations with clarity and confidence, and connecting in a way that’s more fun and more emotional”.

In a comment sent to Mumbrella, Leo Australia’s chief client partner, Amanda Wheeler, explained how the creative team made sure the work’s humour did not undermine the seriousness of GIO’s message.

“We ensured the humour served the message, not overshadowed it,” Wheeler tells Mumbrella. “By grounding each moment in a genuine insurable scenario, the levity simply highlights the reassurance GIO provides – making the serious message more relatable without diluting it.”

Leo Australia’s executive creative director, Tim Woolford, said in the media release that “GIO has been around forever, but what it actually means to Aussies was becoming a bit fuzzy. This campaign sets out to change that by positioning GIO as a brand that stands for safety, and for great insurance, obviously.

“We’ve tried to avoid lofty insurance tropes in favour of a more subversive comedic style. We want Aussies to feel like GIO really is a safety mat for all the ordinary ‘life stuff’ that can suddenly go wrong.”

The platform will launch across social media, digital, out of home, and TV channels. Media agency OMD will lead the campaign’s media efforts.

Credits

Client: GIO / Suncorp Group

EGM Brand & Customer Experience: Mim Haysom

Head of Brand & Content: Rapthi Thanapalasingam

Brand Marketing Manager: Mark Condon

Brand Marketing Lead: Bryony Nickless

Brand Marketing Lead: Axel Leibovich

Creative agency: Leo Australia and Publicis London

CEO, Leo Australia: Clare Pickens

Chief Creative Officer, Leo Australia: Andy Fergusson

Executive Creative Director, Leo Australia: Tim Woolford

Creative Director, Publicis London: Tom Dixon

Associate Creative Director, Leo Australia: Adam Fraser

Senior Copywriter, Leo Australia: Nick Timms

Senior Art Director, Leo Australia: Tim Yates

Chief Strategy Officer, Leo Australia: Catherine King

Group Strategy Director, Leo Australia: Mitch Hunter

Client Partner, Leo Australia: Amanda Wheeler

Group Account Director, Leo Australia: Alex Barkworth

Senior Account Manager, Leo Australia: Ali Jeffrey

Production:

Publicis Production

Executive Producer, Integrated: Justine Dooner

Senior Integrated Producer: Anastasia Nielsen

Good Oil Films

EP: Juliet Bishop

Director: Torstein Bjorklund

Producer: Tracey-Lee Permall

DOP: Sean Ryan

Production Designer: Annie Beauchamp

Key Visual Production: Prodigious

Post-Production: Arc

Post-Producer: Sally Quade

Offline Editor: Lucas Baynes

VFX: Fin Design + Effects

VFX Supervisor: Mikey Brown

CG Supervisor: Ryan Maddox

Executive Producer: Emily Newbould

Colourist: Matt Fezz

Sound House: Rumble Studios

Sound Designer: Tone Aston

Producer: Kiara Watson

Sound EP: Michael Gie

Director: Torstein Bjorklund

Media agency: OMD

Head of Business Strategy: Paul Baker

Account Director: Will Thornton

Senior Account Manager: Liam Webster

Account Executive: Andrew Tong