Google shows you how to sell that pet stick
When I saw the little pair of googly eyes attached to the stick, I thought Google was trying to get into the car insurance business. But it turns out the truth is just as weird: Google is marketing to advertisers by giving a case study of how one might sell a pet stick. Over at the slimmed-down site, you can follow the case study through a chain of magical interlocking impact circles. They claim they chose the pet stick because it's "virtually unsellable" (though Ren and Stimpy already managed it brilliantly, and we all know how well the pet rock did). I would have given them more kudos if they had actually set up the pet-stick site and all the goodies Google promised. But what really concerns me is: How did Geico manage to completely own the notion of attaching googly eyes to an inanimate object so quickly that I can't think of anything else when I look at that stick? —Posted by Rebecca Cullers |
Comments
You can follow this conversation by subscribing to the comment feed for this post.
A quick view of this classic SNL clip should cure all Geico references.
http://www.hulu.com/watch/16417/saturday-night-live-googly-eyes-gardener
Posted by: C. Walken | Jun 15, 2009 5:43:31 PM
Interesting note.
Geico also managed to have me thinking more about corporate responsibility and environment awareness since I saw them using aerial advertising services in the San Francisco Bay area, flying over the baylands natural preserve.
Wash up our brain versus Clean up our air , pick your camp :-).
Best
Posted by: dominic | Jun 15, 2009 8:19:03 PM
I think the bad thing is that Google could sell the googly eyed sticks for money, give profits to charity and people would buy them. They're cute......and I'm lazy. Not that I would be able to do anything other then to say "I got a limited edition Google googly eyed stick."
Posted by: nihil | Jun 16, 2009 2:41:38 PM
Geico doesn't get to own the googly-eyes schtick. I worked on a concept for Slim Jim four years ago that added googly eyes to a Slim Jim, and used that Slim Jim "snake" to tempt customers in the convenience store. This didn't get produced, or even shown to the client, eventually. But, just the same -- googly eyes are not the epiphany of Geico's agency (I think the Martin Agency).
Posted by: MINIapolis | Jun 16, 2009 4:03:50 PM
@C. Walken, Walken is hilarious in that clip! Thanks for the link.
Posted by: Rebecca Cullers | Jun 16, 2009 10:16:36 PM
