In an attempt to usurp the power of the Geico Gecko Progressive took a page out of the marketing prowess of Apple and introduced a human as their own ‘gecko’. Flo the Progressive girl has an allure that is unique and strangely endearing. Her exuberance combined with her look give us a combination of the girl next door and a stand up comedian.

She is not ‘gorgeous’, she is not ‘sexy’ and at times could really be seen as a-sexual, and yet she is enticing and mysterious and perhaps more sexy than the top models – it’s something about her character, her charm and her humor that catapult her into ‘icon’ status.

However good or bad Progressive insurance is, they now have a character that is recognizable and instantly have a talking point amongst people. While companies like Allstate try to combat this with their own ‘man’ none come close, aside from Geico and their Gecko.

Stephanie Courtney, the actress who plays Flo is an accomplished performer who has had many TV appearance and also is a member of an LA improv troupe called the Groundlings.

Perhaps it’s this improv ability that helps her shine in real life and therefore possess the qualities that a character like Flo requires.

Not that Flo is Courtney though – Stephanie under goes two hours of hair and make-up to become the ubiquitous Flo, transforming her into a 50s chick with some pizzazz.

Stephanie’s career is illustrious – she has appeared in “The Heartbreak Kid”, “Blades of Glory” and also had a prominent part in the comedy “Melvin Goes to Dinner”. Her TV appearance are also impressive; she’s been in The Man Show, Angel, Everybody Loves Raymond and ER to name but a few.

Stephanie admits that she is similar to Flo at times, but Flo is merely a part of the whole.

 Personally I find Flo to be a breath of fresh air. She is simply divine; she is funny, cute and clean cut. There's no pretension or overt sexiness, she simply is classy. Every man would die to marry someone like Flo - she is bright, smart, happy and full of life - you get the impression that she'd do anything for her husband.

Quite simply, she is an unatainable goal for most men, and that certainly is part of her allure.