Disney frog getting leg up from Geico gecko
The Martin Agency has cobbled together a cute Geico tie in with Disney's new movie The Princess and the Frog. In the spot, the frog prince Skypes the gecko to ask for advice about un-frogging himself and instead learns how he can save hundreds by switching to Geico. There doesn't seem to be anything to the tie-in beyond this one spot. And the only connection seems to be that the lizard and the frog are both small, talking, green things (OK, the frog's more of a sandy beige) with adorable accents. But who cares how they relate? Little greenish/beige spokescreatures are cute. —Posted by Rebecca Cullers
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Published on November 11, 2009 | Permalink
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Liberty Mutual magically makes things good
Hill, Holliday employs arresting visuals to illustrate that "an accident doesn't have to slow you down" in this pair of Liberty Mutual spots touting new car replacement and guaranteed repairs. In the ad above, a guy convincingly plucks a "spare" vehicle from the trunk of his recently smashed-up car. The ad below follows the impact of a crash along the length of a car and shows the damage repairing itself almost as soon as it happens. The ads are impressively staged and memorable. Still, dealing with insurance companies after accidents can be a stressful, protracted, sometimes maddening experience—and these spots overreach a bit by making the process seem effortless, almost magical. It's probably wishful thinking to expect insurers' practices to be as special as the effects they use in commercials. —Posted by David Gianatasio
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Published on November 5, 2009 | Permalink
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Growing up hard to do in AMV's Aviva spots
New spots by AMV BBDO in London for financial services/insurance firm Aviva Life evolve the company's "Moments that matter" theme. This time around, we get tales of two dads, both dealing in different ways with growing older. Young professional dad in "Grow Up" (above) has plenty of hair, a go-getter attitude and a perfect TV-commercial family at home. Let's hope he doesn't get disillusioned by the second spot, "Again" (below), with its haggard, beefy dad who can't even do household chores without his wife reminding him that his pants are a big too snug these days. And her cockney nasal twang is like music to my ears! Speaking of music, note the jangly-happy pop for the young dad and the sedate, vaguely ominous tones for the middle-aged guy. Indeed, the tempo slows for us all. —Posted by David Gianatasio |
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Published on October 14, 2009 | Permalink
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Travelers ad by Fallon drifts in meaningfully
The unexplained airborne event has been popular in commercials ever since Sony Bravia's "Balls" spot, created by Fallon London in 2005. The new Travelers ad above, by Fallon Minneapolis, directed by Frank Budgen, continues the tradition, with a swarm of little umbrellas floating in on the breeze, captivating the humans and settling like rose petals on things you'd insure, like your car, your house, etc. It's nicely shot, but the formula is getting a bit irritating. Grand, nonsensical visual + quirky acoustic tune ("Worries" by Langhorne Slim) + lots of slow motion = atmosphere of wonder, where people get enraptured by things like an influx of corporate logos. It probably looks great in HD, but it pales in comparison to Fallon's Katamari-inspired Travelers spot from 2006 (below), which also has brilliant visuals but a more compelling, less cloying message and technique. |
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Published on October 13, 2009 | Permalink
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Geico's gecko is still seeking YouTube glory
Geico's gecko breaks out the moves next to Judson Laipply in this remix of Laipply's incomprehensibly popular "Evolution of Dance" video (famous for being YouTube's most-watched clip ever, with 127 million views). The little green freak—the gecko, not Laipply—has crashed a number of these popular YouTube videos, though this is the first new one in several months. He did score more than 2.2 million views for his earlier appearance with the Numa Numa guy singing "Somebody's Watching Me." That made more sense, as the song is featured in Geico's Kash spots. In "Evolution," the gecko is more distracting than anything else. Still, his comedy stylings beat those of Saturday Night Live's newest recruit, Jenny Slate. The classy gecko, as always, works green, not blue. —Posted by David Gianatasio See also: |
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Published on September 28, 2009 | Permalink
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Talking branches and fenders shill for Geico
Geico touts its 24-hour claims service, H.R. Pufnstuf-style, in these new spots from The Martin Agency, which feature tree limbs and fenders that wisecrack after cracking a windshield and the rear bumper of another car. The tagline, "Accidents are bad, but Geico's good," could probably apply to the commercials themselves, which succeed against all reasonable expectations by being unabashedly and self-consciously silly in the extreme. Another plus: Geico's googly-eyed wad of Kash is nowhere in sight. |
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Published on June 19, 2009 | Permalink
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Geico's Kash pops up everywhere uninvited
Burger King is all proud about the creepiness of its commercials, but I think Geico's Kash spots are equally unsettling. In a new round of ads from The Martin Agency, the inanimate wad of money (which represents the savings people could be enjoying with Geico) really gets around. The googly-eyed pile of banknotes unexpectedly pops up at a late-night diner, a library and a gas station. The guy vacuuming his car with the big hose seems a tad too intrigued, perhaps fantasizing about a night spent sleeping atop a pile of money. Hey, it sure beats a nocturnal visit from the King. —Posted by David Gianatasio |
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Published on June 1, 2009 | Permalink
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Geico cavemen feeling the catharsis of rock
In a sure sign that civilized man has begun to devolve back to the hirsute, rock 'n' roll party animals from whence we sprang (that's some lede!), Geico's cavemen rock out with the band 3 Doors Down in commercials and a video for the song "Let Me Be Myself." That caveman really does capture the Fender Strat-fueled angst of the tune, which, let's face it, is all the cro-magnon has ever asked of the world in Geico's iconic ads from The Martin Agency. Are we 100 percent sure that's not Charlie Daniels in that clip above? There is a resemblance. Or maybe a long-lost Allman Brother. Or Jim Morrison? That's how he'd look if he were still alive. In fact, that's pretty much how he looked in '69. Jim was the Lizard King, though. He'd jam with the gecko. |
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Published on May 15, 2009 | Permalink
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Liberty Mutual's quirky ad family needs help
Liberty Mutual poses some heavy questions about "doing the right thing" in this latest ad from Hill, Holliday, part of the insurer's ongoing Responsibility Project. I'd like to save the commercial's fictional Marlowe family and everyone else some time—and hopefully head off more sappy spots—and answer them here. 1) Yes, the family should put the grandfather in a nursing home. He's clearly off his nut and probably dangerous. 2) The older brother should absolutely drop out of college and enlist in the Army, not just to save the family some money but also to get a real haircut instead of that half-assed shag. 3) Of course the family should spy on the sister—enlist the April Fool's software worm or that Chinese surveillance software if necessary. She's clearly up to no good, and a Fling in a boutique changing room can't be far off. Most important: get the kid who narrates the spot some professional help. Judging from the costume and pogo-stick antics, he's headed the way of Grandpa. |
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Published on April 1, 2009 | Permalink
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Iggy's insurance not available to musicians
This U.K. auto-insurance commercial with Iggy Pop, which we first posted last month, is more embarrassing for its star than we originally thought. It turns out Swiftcover refuses to insure musicians, citing higher levels of risk and potential claims costs as reasons. Swiftcover marketing director Tina Shortle says Pop was chosen for the advertising "because he loves life, not because he is a musician. He is an actor demonstrating the benefits of Swiftcover.com." Tim Soong, who plays bass in Roguetune, tells the Evening Standard: "The customer services operator told me they don't insure musicians. When I mentioned Iggy Pop, she said his case was different because he is American." |
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Published on February 24, 2009 | Permalink
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NBA to play H-O-R-S-E, but call it G-E-I-C-O
This is just idiotic. USA Today is reporting that the NBA is organizing its first H-O-R-S-E contest for All-Star Weekend on Feb. 13-15. Only it's not calling it H-O-R-S-E. It's calling it G-E-I-C-O. Which sounds so authentic! Corporate sponsorship has its place, but this move will get ridiculed endlessly, and deserves to. What a bunch of P-I-G-s. |
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Published on February 6, 2009 | Permalink
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Iggy Pop left with little dignity after U.K. ad
Iggy Pop's "Lust for Life" was used for many years (too many) in ads for Royal Caribbean. Now, the man himself, looking about 106 years old, struts his stuff shirtless in a U.K. spot for Swiftcover auto insurance. (Our sister blog BrandFreak wrote about the ad as well.) Now, Iggy going shirtless on stage at CBGB circa 1973 was cutting edge—perhaps unforgettable. Iggy going shirtless in 2009 in a commercial sets my teeth on edge, and it's unforgettable for all the wrong reasons. The guy looks like he just stepped out of a car crash! One he didn't quite survive. It's actually more unsettling than Johnny Rotten hawking Country Life butter in his bathrobe. They should team up for a tour. Sponsors would line up around the corner, unlike concertgoers, who would surely stay away in droves. |
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Published on January 26, 2009 | Permalink
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Geico's Kash rears his ugly head once again
Geico's much-maligned inanimate wad of bills, known as "Kash," returns in these two new spots by The Martin Agency. In the ad above, the banknotes briefly flutter in the breeze. That's pretty much the highlight of the action here. To his credit, though, the guy who plays the stereotype hick rancher really does seem inbred. The gecko is also back in some more palatable offerings. Maybe the lizard could eat or burn or tear "Kash" to shreds in a Japanese monster-movie style "Gecko vs. Kash" commercial. "Cavemen vs. Kash" would also be fine. Just as long as there's no Kash back. |
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Published on January 6, 2009 | Permalink
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Geico's new mascot doesn't quite stack up
So, it's come to this. Forget about the caveman and the gecko. Geico has introduced a new commercial character that requires no budget for actors, makeup, animation or voice talent. "Kash" is just a stack of bills with eyeballs, designed to get down to the basics of how much customers can save on car insurance with Geico. In two new spots by The Martin Agency—one set in a corporate meeting room, the other in a restaurant—the wad of greenbacks shows little in the way of personality. It doesn't talk, walk or earn interest. It just sits there, inert, begging for viewers to find the concept cute or kitschy. It's not weird cool—it's weird weird. Actually, it's not even weird. It's just a misfire made worse by the use of an insufferable remake of the Rockwell/Michael Jackson song "Somebody's Watching Me." And now I've got that stupid tune stuck in my head! The caveman was like Shakespeare in comparison. |
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Published on December 8, 2008 | Permalink
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Progressive's Flo: I'm not trying to be sexy
Dudes have a thing for Flo, the perky Progressive Insurance saleswoman played by actress Stephanie Courtney. Perhaps it's her retro look or, in the words of one smitten blogger, her "kissable red red lips." In search of answers, ABC television's Atlanta affiliate tracked down the 38-year-old actress, who seems a bit baffled by all the fuss. |
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Published on December 3, 2008 | Permalink
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AIG's 'strength' tagline turns to punch line
—Posted by David Griner |
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Published on September 18, 2008 | Permalink
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Naked statues languish without healthcare
Nothing sells healthcare—or anything, really—quite like nudity. Which brings us to "Uncovered," an outdoor display by Taxi for Blue Shield of California that features 40 statues showing humans in "vulnerable positions." Maybe they wouldn't be so vulnerable if they wore some pants! The broader idea is to symbolize the 6.7 million Californians who have no health coverage. See some more pics here. The statues debuted last Friday in Los Angeles at an event with Blue Shield CEO Bruce Bodaken and former Olympic gold medal swimmer Janet Evans, who both kept their clothes on. The statues move today to San Francisco, where the public display of naked human bodies probably won't draw all that much attention. —Posted by David Gianatasio |
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Published on September 9, 2008 | Permalink
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Liberty Mutual puts you in the driver's seat
—Posted by David Gianatasio |
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Published on August 18, 2008 | Permalink
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