Is Jim Joyce in the Geico commercial with Ken Griffey Jr.?

Posted by

A real mystery came up in October 2023 inside the American advertising world. Geico Insurance released a new commercial that caught the spotlight: in the ad, we see Ken Griffey Jr. and his wife in their new house and an annoying neighbor who seems to harass them daily. And many people believe they recognized the neighbor: is he Jim Joyce? The hints are clear: let’s discover what we know so far and the official information available.

Are you looking for the 2024 Geico Caveman commercial?
Learn everything about it here!

You can watch the 2023 Geico commercial with Ken Griffey Jr. here on iSpot.tv.

Is Jim Joyce in the Geico commercial with Ken Griffey Jr.?

The 2023 Geico commercial with the annoying neighbor stars former baseball player Ken Griffey Jr., his wife Melissa Griffey, and a neighbor who really looks like former baseball umpire Jim Joyce. In the ad, the two spouses’ names are clearly written under their silhouettes when introducing themselves, whereas Geico has not officially identified the neighbor.

However, even if we have no official answer from Geico about it, there are clear hints suggesting the neighbor is really Jim Joyce. Among the ones who had this doubt is the professional sportscaster Brennan Mense, who noticed on Twitter an important detail: at the end of the Geico commercial, when the screen fades out from the neighbor’s face, Ken Griffey Jr. says to his wife “it’s ok, he’s done this to me before.” In real life, Jim Joyce really ejected Ken Griffey Jr. in 1989. It was one of just two career ejections for the famous baseball player.

Jim Joce discussed that ejection in this video interview with the Irish American Baseball Society. It was the first ejection of his career, and the fact that his first time was with an important athlete like Ken Griffey Jr. still makes him smile.

Looking at his face, the way he moves, and how he’s dressed up, everything would confirm the neighbor in the 2023 Geico is really Jim Joyce: we don’t have the official confirmation from the Geico marketing team, but the final line pronounced by Ken Griffey Jr. seems to confirm it.

If that’s true, this Geico commercial can be appreciated as a stroke of genius: Ken Griffey Jr. is peacefully trying to enjoy his new house with his wife, and umpire Jim Joyce comes back from his past as a nightmare, ruining his days and ejecting him from his own garden. It’s the typical hilarious situation that makes a commercial memorable.

Discover other curiosities about popular commercials on Auralcrave