Geico: Making the strange familiar and the familiar strange

Geico's new ad campaign has a spokesperson asking the audience "Could switching to Geico really save you 15% or more on car insurance?"

 The spokesperson then poses a second question regarding an obvious or  renowned adage such as "Is Abe Lincoln honest?" or "Did the little piggy cry "wee wee wee" all the way home?" to emphasize that Geico saving you money is obvious, as well. The silly questions are then followed by short clips of these adages played out. A woman asks Abe Lincoln if her dress makes her backside look big, and he-after hesitation- is unfailingly honest and says yes. A small pig sticks his head out the window and cries (joyfully) "wee wee wee" as an obviously annoyed carpooling mother drives him home.

The most recent ad asks the question: "Is a bird in the hand worth two in the bush?" The clip shows a woman at a mock-Antiques Road Show having her porcelain hand with a bird in it appraised. After the appraiser looks over the piece- mockingly commenting on its condition and age- he tells her "If it were to go to auction today I would say, conservatively, it would go for two in the bush," as the woman looks on in sheer amazement.

This ad works because it mixes various elements that are familiar to the audience: the adage and the popular TV show. The elements come together to make a truly humorous and clever commercial.

In fact, when I first saw it, I mistakenly thought it was the actual Antique Road Show. It made me stop and watch because I thought "What is this item and what is it worth?" When the punchline came, I couldn't help but laugh because the clever ad stopped me in my tracks. And that's what a good ad should do: stop you and make you think. This ad falls in line with Geico’s other clever ads: the cavemen, the money with eyes, and the gecko. The humor element only added to the attraction of this ad and it also is what viewers have come to expect from this brand: clever, humorous and catchy advertisements.

Give me the Car Fax, not the Car Fox

Recently, Carfax debuted it's new trade character, the Car Fox. The extent of his exposure is simply asking people to "Get the Car Fax" at the end of their commercials. I think this trade character in particular is gimmicky and, frankly, a bit cheesy.


The creators of the Car Fox simply changed one letter of their brand name, which they may've thought would make the character easy to remember. To me, this reads as unoriginal and lazy because people wouldn't necessarily relate an online vehicle report company to a fox. The fox is not representational of their brand goals in that they share none of the same characteristics.


A fox would generally be associated with a brand that may be selling surveillance or spy equipment, recalling to customer's minds the adage "Sly as a fox." Or a brand focused on speed like the Fox racing company.

I also think the Car Fax brand was trying to imitate the success of the Geico Gecko. I credit this success to the use of the gecko without referring to the obvious similarity of the brand name and the trade character. Instead, the brand allowed the audience to see the connection between the two.

The Car Fox has his name plastered on his t-shirt. The name use may lead the  audience to believe that the brand doesn't think they could make the association themselves, which is offensive.

I believe a brand should only use a trade character when the character accurately reflects the core value of the brand rather than being a gimmick. Or,  when the brand trade character can be easily associated with the brand in the audience's mind- without having to state the obvious.

Instead, the company could've used an animal that could relate to the necessity of car facts. For instance: a flying squirrel who says "Always look before you leap, get your Car Fax." This way, they are tying the advantage of viewing Car Fax to the importance of Maslow's financial and safety needs, while maintaining their use of a trade character.

New York Color is Down-to-Earth

New York Color, or N.Y.C. Cosmetics, has launched a new campaign focusing on their prices, along with the effectiveness of their beauty enhancing products. Their new tag line is as follows: "Uptown Styles, Down to Earth Prices." The ad copy reads, "Prices from 99 cents to $4.99."

On their website, link is here, their mission is stated as, "The N.Y.C. New York Color Mission is to build a leading lifestyle brand that excites, engages and inspires women with prestige quality cosmetics at a value price."

Unlike many of their competitors, who rarely use prices in their advertisements, NYC has chosen to be more sensitive to the recent economic state of the country. The ads have run on television, online and in Cosmopolitan, Glamour and many other high-fashion magazines, proving that they are choosing women on all financial scales as their target audience.

This approach sets the N.Y.C. brand apart from other makeup brands in that it shows a level of social-conscious as well as demonstrating the beauty-enhancing benefits of their products.

When most companies advertise their low prices, it can be perceived as cheap-sounding/looking but I think the ad copy was effectively used to be both subtle and appealing rather than tacky. It was positioned off center, but had a clear and visible font size. Basically, the cost was not the main point of the ad, but was used effectively.  Also, the model and colors used portray the qualities of class and sophistication that can be yours for prices ranging from 99 cents to $4.99.

10 Rules For Effective Ads

I found these rules for more effective advertising posted by the American Research Group on their Web site. I thought this list was both simple and effective, as it touched on some good points.
The link to the list is here: 10 Rules List

A couple of my favorites were:

1. Does the ad tell a simple story, not just convey information?
- A good story does not interpret or explain the action in the story for the audience. Instead, a good story allows each member of the audience to interpret the story as he or she understands the action. This is why people find good stories so appealing and why they find advertising that simply conveys information so boring.

I think this is true of a good advertisement. I don't think an ad has to be a lengthy story, but it should unfold well in front of the audience. If an ad has the element of a story line- the viewer will be pulled in to the ad, especially if the ad incorporates humor or wit. Point in case: Jameson's Irish Whiskey Commercial. I particularly remember this ad because of its unfolding story line. It is posted below:



***I am not saying that ALL ads should use story lines, but it is one effective approach to advertising if done well.

And,

10. Does the ad use identifiable music?
- Music can be a rapidly identified cue for the recall of emotional responses remembered from previous advertising. Making the same music an identifiable aspect of all advertising signals the audience to pay attention for more important content.

Not only can music recall emotion in the audience, I think that with today's music tangibility, music is
one way to call attention to a brand in a "hip" way. I think Mac commercials have effectively used music to call attention to their products. Using new and of-the-moment music reflects on the fact that the Mac brand is also of-the-moment. I, myself, have Googled some of their ads to see what the song in the ad was called, and then I downloaded it from, where else, iTunes. The music brought attention to the ad and helped to drive a sale for their brand.



Please take a look at the list and tell me your thoughts. What could be added to the list? What doesn't work?