Geico usually has some pretty effective ad campaigns. Think the green gecko or the cavemen or celebrities like Joan Rivers and Little Richard. But the new mascot/spokeswhatever is a dud.You've probably seen the ads. This stack of money with just a pair of eyes resting on top of it shows up at various places and symbolizes the amount of money a person could save if they switched to Geico. He shows up at a restaurant next to a couple eating, he shows up on the roof of a house where men are working, and he shows up on the edge of a wooden post next to a man working in a yard or field. They're joined by a guy who drives up in his car asking for directions. He could have saved money too.
The problem? He's not cute or funny or entertaining like the other Geico mascots have been. He doesn't say anything (no mouth), and we sit there in front of our TVs not quite sure if we're supposed to laugh at the little stack of money eyes or what. I think viewers are more freaked out and/or bored by the ads.
But he does have a Twitter page, which is impressive considering he doesn't have any fingers to type with. Or maybe it isn't impressive: he hasn't updated at all since joining over a month ago.
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
3-23-2009 @ 9:11AM
imattmypants said...
I actually love this commercial. But, I think it's because of the remix of the song "Somebody's Watching Me" which is pretty dang awesome.
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3-23-2009 @ 10:18AM
Chris said...
I totally agree. I love these Geico commercials purely for that song
3-23-2009 @ 9:37AM
Maria T C G said...
I agree with you. B-O-R-I-N-G! Not cute, not funny. I dont even get it. Were the cavemen Geico? Those were fun. This was stupid.
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3-23-2009 @ 6:40PM
Nornny said...
Hey, the fact that it's memorable enough that you are writing a blog post about it and you know that it's a Geico commercial means it's more effective than 80% of the commercials out there.
People don't have to like the ad for it to be effective.
The McDonald's Filet-o-fish commercial drives me just as insane as this one, but good lord I've been craving a Filet-o-fish.
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3-23-2009 @ 9:52AM
Jason said...
they could have the gecko get jealous of the money stack and challenge it to a death match.
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3-23-2009 @ 10:11AM
Don-Don said...
I prefer the use of GOOGLY eyes in the SNL sketch where Christopher Walken is afraid of plants.
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3-23-2009 @ 10:12AM
Alexandra said...
It almost seems like the little guy is supposed to depress us...lol.
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3-23-2009 @ 10:54AM
Barry Wilhelm said...
THANK YOU for bringing this up. These commercials are just annoying.
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3-23-2009 @ 11:00AM
Chris said...
Next thing you know, the Geico Money thing will have its own sitcom on ABC...we all know how that turned out.
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3-23-2009 @ 11:04AM
Freak Mojo said...
The really big reason they are using the pile of money... they are saving an even bigger pile of money by not having to pay any actor fees or image licensing.
So they are practicing what they preach with the current economy by saving themselves money.
Pretty smart actually.. even if they are boring.
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3-23-2009 @ 11:57AM
Modwild said...
Awwww...I like him. I think anything with big eyes is cute. And if you look at the graphic, it looks like he should have a mouth, so maybe he will!
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3-23-2009 @ 12:09PM
Kitty said...
Heck, I love em. Love the song, love the googly eyes. My 4 year old son loves em too :)
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3-23-2009 @ 12:44PM
Ryan said...
It's sorta cute. And sorta funny. And the song is A+.
So many negative nancys here.
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3-23-2009 @ 12:58PM
jgs said...
I don't really like the eyes, but I absolutley HATE the cavemen. Stupid. Yes to the lizard.
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3-23-2009 @ 1:08PM
Xploited13 said...
You're in the minority, Bob. There's quite a lot of positive reception to the money stack character judging from market research. Have had professors remarking how the commercial works well recently.
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3-23-2009 @ 1:15PM
David G said...
The agency that has this account also came up with the cavemen,the Gecko and the UPS White board ads.It is located in my home town and it's a great firm BUT in this case they have a miss not a hit.It just doesn't have the same hook to it the other ads have.You will see these ads for awhile since there is an element of getting your money's worth to these campaigns etc but hopefully the plug will get pulled soon.
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3-23-2009 @ 1:59PM
Joseph said...
I'm *totally* over the annoying British gecko.
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3-23-2009 @ 3:04PM
Ryan said...
I don't know. I'm really liking the most recent one with the CEO guy falling on the gecko as a trust exercise. HIlarious.
3-23-2009 @ 2:24PM
brooke said...
To me, those eyes seem stolen straight from one of my daughter's favorite toddler tv shows: OOBI. You can still catch it on Noggin every once in awhile.
http://www.noggin.com/shows/oobi.php
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3-23-2009 @ 4:29PM
Ben said...
funny or not, ad was successful in getting you to talk about it.
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