This commercial gave me chills. Lets just say I will never walk the hallway of a hotel again without picturing those two twin girls standing at the end of the corridor. I’m serious! I first watched The Shining with my family when I was nine and was terrified. Maybe the fact that my father resembles Jack Nicholson and would burst into my room screaming, “Here’s Johnny!” Yeah, that definitely had something to do with it.
For all you Google loyalists, Bing is a search engine similar to Google from Microsoft. Bing first broke out onto the internet scene on June 3, 2009. The company has already invested $80 to $100 million into their advertising campaign. The ads never mention their competitors by name but simply try and convince the viewer to switch over by claiming Bing does a better job of finding more relevant, higher quality results at a faster pace. I’ve come across many of their television ads before but their spoof on The Shining is hands down my favorite.
The Shining is a 1980 psychological horror film based on the book written by legendary author Stephen King. The film is about writer Jack Torrance (Jack Nicholson) accepting the caretaker job of an extremely isolated hotel during the winter months. His son Danny (Danny Lloyd) has psychic abilities and is able to see ghosts from the past. A combination of cabin fever and supernatural events inside the haunted hotel eventually get the best of Jack. In this state of complete madness he attempts to murder his wife and son. Here is the Bing parody on this classic film.
This ad only appeals to people who have either seen the film or know enough about it to distinguish it as a spoof. It begins with a distant shot of the entire hotel as creepy music plays in background. We are then taken inside to the hotel main lobby, which looks identical to the set from the movie. The little boy on the tricycle also bears a striking resemblance to the actor who played Danny. He does his best “Redrum” impression and suggests to his mother to, “use Bing.” The twin girls in matching dresses appear along with Lloyd the bartender. The highlight of the entire thirty-second spot is obviously the end when the husband smashes through the door and exclaims, “Hey Hun! They got a maze out back!” This is the most famous scene from the movie and was a perfect way to end the commercial. Here is that famous clip which has petrified me for the past decade!
Mascots. Who needs them? I mean, who wants some teenage guy full of acne working up a sweat inside a giant furry head? But mascots seem to be a permanent part of our society. From birth we grow up used to them. At our first few birthday parties Barney and Mickey Mouse always seem to show up. We hug them. We kiss them. We high-five them. But then something changes.
My favorite is that three to four year stretch when little boys think its fun to attack the mascot. Chuck E Cheese was the best punching bag. This oversized, mutated mouse practically knows its coming. After his first day he wises up and actually invests in shin guards and a cup (that is all these 7-10 year olds can reach anyway). He comes out of the backroom slowly looking to his left and right as if he were about to break out of mice prison. But then once one kid spots him it turns into scene from Braveheart. Chuck E Cheese traumatized me as a child. One second my tiny fists of fury were raining blows upon his upper thigh, the next I’m on my ass. All I could think was, “Is he allowed to do that?” And then ten minutes later all I could think was, “Why the hell are these slices of pizza so small?” But that’s for another day…
But mascots aren’t just for children apparently because it continues on the college and professional sports levels too! I feel bad for any priest who is a hockey fan and has the New Jersey Devil parading up and down the aisle next to him. Or how about the teams that completely force the mascot issue? The Phoenix Suns are a perfect example of this. What the hell does a gorilla have to do with the suns? Or the Phillie Phanatic? Come on, he’s just an obese Oscar the Grouch sporting Phillies memorabilia. Mascots have become a big part of advertising and a way to appeal better to a company’s target audience. Trix has the rabbit, Burger King has The King and Toys “R” Us has Geoffrey the Giraffe. Companies are always trying to figure out ways to differentiate themselves from their competitors. The easiest and most effective ways to do this is through easily recognizable logos or mascots. None could be more true than for GEICO.
If you have never heard of GEICO I strongly suggest you move into the 21st century and purchase a television. GEICO is an American auto insurance company and easily has the most identifiable commercials on TV. The most famous tagline used in all GEICO commercials is, “Fifteen minutes could save you fifteen percent or more on car insurance.” That phrase is permanently embroidered into my memory. GEICO does the best job at reminder advertising and "hitting” the viewer over and over with the same message. That is why GEICO is one of the few companies that continuously purchases two fifteen second commercial timeslots back-to-back rather than one thirty second spot. The viewer barely realizes it's only fifteen seconds and before they know it, the next ad starts; different ad with the exact same message. Because GEICO auto insurance appeals to anyone who owns a car and likes to save money, their commercials aren't restricted to which channels they could advertise on. I've noticed them on every main network channel (CBS, NBC, FOX, ABC) and also many other popular stations such as ESPN, TBS, and TNT. GEICO’s commercials always star one of their several mascots they have introduced to us.
So the question is… which GEICO mascot is the best? This calls for an old fashioned “Mascot Olympics.” That’s right, the GEICO Gecko going toe to toe with the likes of the Caveman and stack of Money.
So these are the rules. First I will post a commercial starring each of the mascots and then write a little something about it. The next part is up to you. You all have the chance to vote on which GEICO mascot is your favorite! Your votes will decide which mascot goes home with the gold medal!
Gecko
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I love this little guy. He is actually named Martin the Gecko because he was created by The Martin Agency- an American advertising agency based in Richmond, Virginia. The gecko speaks with an English accent and the voice is that of Paul Morgan- a British actor and comedian. The gecko first appeared in GEICO commercials in 1999 during the Screen Actors Guild Strike, which prevented the use of live actors. In the original commercial, the gecko begs people to stop calling him, mistaking gecko for GEICO. I like Martin the Gecko the best not just for his witty lines and engaging accent… but his voice is so recognizable that it makes for great radio advertisements as well.
Cavemen
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The GEICO Cavemen commercials first started back in 2004 and have been well received by the public. The Cavemen campaign was created by Joe Lawson from The Martin Agency. The premise of these commercials is that GEICO’s website is, “So easy, a caveman could do it.” This slogan continues to insult cavemen who are not only still in existence but are intelligent and live in modern society. ABC even rolled the dice with an attempted spin off idea for a sitcom. It premiered on October 2, 2007 but shortly after was cancelled due to extremely low ratings. Don’t let the failed sitcom taint your opinion on these ads because the GEICO Cavemen are still some of the most popular commercials on television today.
Kash
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GEICO began airing this series of commercials in 2008 embroidering yet another catchy slogan into our minds. This time it was, “The money you could be saving with GEICO.” GEICO’s newest mascot is quite simply a stack of banded U.S. bills with a pair of Googly eyes on top named Kash. Clever wording, changing the “C” in cash to a “K.” I wonder what brain surgeon came up with that one? Never the less, the concept is funny with someone always noticing this character sitting and staring at them but his name is never revealed in the actual ads. Kash just sits there and then his theme song, which is a remix by Mysto & Pizzi of the 1980s hit “Somebody’s Watching Me,” begins to play in the background. Every commercial Kash has ever appeared in, this song follows which is a great marketing technique because not only is it free advertising when the song plays on the radio but the five second jingle to end each commercial is memorable. Also, unlike the Cavemen, it’s easier to advertise on the radio because even though Kash never speaks, people can identify the commercial as GEICO once his theme begins to play.
Animated Characters
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I have only seen one of these commercials on TV so far and it was the GEICO pothole. I have to say I was not all that impressed. These ads first began in 2009 and after doing some research I found these other two commercials. After ten solid years of strong advertising I hope the creative team at GEICO ditches the talking tree branch, car bumper and pothole and creates yet another classic mascot.
So now it’s up to you! Either vote on the poll to the right of the blog or just vote by commenting on this post. And the winner is….
Company: Bud Light
Aired: February 7, 2010 during Super Bowl XLIV
Channel: CBS, TBS
Appeal: Humor, Parody
Yet another person has fell victim to Lost. That poor soul is none other than ME. Five and a half years after the pilot first aired I finally took the plunge. Countless meals of being left out of the conversation from my family and friends… and now, finally I have a voice! In just six weeks my girlfriend and I watched the first four complete seasons. We have drooled over 83 episodes or 3,569 minutes or 59.4 hours (If you haven’t noticed yet, I am completely in love with the show).
For anyone who has been living under a rock since 2004 Lost is a television show on ABC that follows the lives of plane crash survivors on a mysterious tropical island. The “Oceanic” passenger jet flying from Sydney to Los Angeles goes down somewhere in the South Pacific. Each episode jumps back and forth from a storyline on the island as well as a flashback/flash-forward from a character’s past/future. Ranging from polar bears on a tropical island to an unexplained black smoke to the “others” and the Dharma Initiative, the writers do a fabulous job of keeping their viewers confused or if I may say so, completely LOST. But because of this complete lack of knowing what will come next, this show has developed a strong following of people.
I saw this commercial a few days ago while watching a rerun of The Office on TBS. A wise time slot purchase by Bud Light because a humorous commercial will typically appeal more to the demographics of people tuning in for a funny television program than those watching lets say All My Children or Law & Order. With that said, the second the commercial began my eyes were glued to the screen because I thought it had something to do with my newfound obsession. Now apparently it was on during this past Super Bowl. I vaguely remember seeing it BUT it obviously didn’t leave that great of an impression on me because I hadn’t started watching Lost until March. Enjoy!
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The survivors of the plane crash are more interested in drinking their Bud Light and partying than trying to get off the island. An exaggerated concept, which is what makes it hilarious.
The year was 1998. You know 1998 right? The year Google search-engine was founded? The infamous Monica Lewinsky scandal? How about Eighty-two year old legendary icon Frank Sinatra dies? Or maybe for our younger audience; the opening of Disney’s Animal Kingdom theme park at Walk Disney World? Any of this ringing a bell? Anyone involved in TV advertising will all say the same thing… 1998 was the year television, as we knew it was revolutionized.
Since the beginning of time, or at least since TV’s had “rabbit ears,” the only way to avoid watching advertisements was to gather up enough energy to brush the crumbs off our bare-chest and go to the kitchen to get another box of cookies. But nowadays, with the revolutionary ideas of TiVo and DVRs, we can simply fast forward past these advertisements. Does this seem fair to you? Sure it’s convenient but what about the advertisers who are virtually throwing their money away? Millions of dollars wasted. Hundreds of people working countless hours on the marketing strategy, who the target audience is and what message the commercial is trying to get across. Then once the advertising agency is finally happy with their ideas they bring them to the client. Numerous pitches shot down before the client agrees to sign off on one. But that’s not all. Then it comes to actually shooting the commercial. Time and effort spent editing and piecing it together. Adding sound effects and special effects. Not to mention the hassle a celebrity endorser could evolve into. Whether they’re showing up three hours late, the refreshments aren’t to their liking or the hairstylist messed up her hair… on and on and on the possible bumps in the road are endless But wait, it gets better. Now it’s time to actually find time slots to advertise on which is far from cheap. To put it in perspective, the main networks: ABC, NBC, FOX and CBS each round up approximately $10 billion a year in TV ad revenues.
Listen, I don’t work in the business YET, but one day I hope to and it kills me to think that my hard work will be going to waste. With this blog I plan to open some stubborn people’s eyes to how interesting advertising can be; I call these people “TiVoists.” So spoiled by their fancy DVR systems, the human race has neglected to truly appreciate great ads. Despite the growing phenomenon of TiVo and fast-forwarding past commercials which has made media-buyers lives a living hell, advertising has always been and still is what keeps these industries afloat. TV, radio and magazines all rely heavily on selling advertisement space, so without commercials, who knows what the media scene would be like today. I am hopeful that commercials become more relevant and a buzz about memorable ads (not just Super Bowl ads) begins to circulate. Although Nielsen is working hard on researching and collecting information to track viewers' TiVo habits, the TV landscape and how companies choose to advertise has forever been altered.
A full time student by day, and self-appointed TV commercial critic by night, I run http://tivosworstenemy.blogspot.com/. While just a sophmore at The College of Staten Island, I am NOT an industry expert but merely a guy who loves advertising (especially TV commercials) and has a blog to talk about them. Currently a Business Marketing major with a minor in Journalism, this blog should bring out the best in me. The point of this blog is to show and discuss, commercials we love, commercials we hate and commercials no one should ever Tivo over.
