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.