WHY?

Why do people shop where they shop and buy where they buy?  This question has always fascinated me.  I was intrigued by the question so much that I majored in Advertising/Marketing in college.  My primary consideration in deciding on that major is that we are always trying to sell something, quite often ourselves.  Whether we are opening our own business or interviewing for a job we are selling the customers or the interviewer on what we have to offer.  He or she has many options, why should they choose us?

There have been some classic ad campaigns.  Some use a jingle such as “I wish I were an Oscar Mayer Wiener” or a slogan such as “Like a good neighbor State Farm is there” or even a celebrity endorsing underwear such as Michael Jordan.  But what’s with these Geico ape guys.  The gecko lizard I can see but the ape guys? 

At lease the lizard is kind of a cute little guy that endears a sense of good and kindness.  But what am I missing with those ape guys?  I can envision a meeting in the Geico board room.  High level executives sit around a table and look daggers at a parade of high powered Madison Avenue ad agencies making their pitch.  They listen as the best and brightest in the business make proposal after proposal on how to sell auto insurance. 

It’s getting late in the day, yawns are turning into glances at their watches and thoughts of let’s get the hell out of here.  The last presentation starts with a bursting-with-pride presenter next to an easel, flipping over a cover sheet to reveal 2 guys who look like ape people.  Their team then proceeds to roll out a complete ad campaign based on these people/apes. 

A light bulb goes off in the head of someone in the Geico group (probably the girlfriend of the CEO).  She says excitedly, “Brilliant!  Why did we not think of this before”?  Everyone else at the table, realizing this is the girlfriend of the CEO, enthusiastically chime in with their approval.  A quick vote is taken and they unanimously decide to go with the agency proposing a multi-year, multi-million dollar ad campaign based on the thought that people will gravitate to an auto insurance company based on an affinity for a couple of ape guys.

WHY?  What in God’s name made them think that I, Mr. John Q. Public, would see this ad on TV and think “Damn, I better transfer my auto insurance to Geico”?  I consider myself a fairly astute person but I can’t, for the life of me, figure out what the bait or the trigger is in this campaign.  For openers, they are ugly.  If they were cute looking apes, they might have some appeal, but these guys trying to strut around like Mr. Cool, doesn’t wash.  To me, these ape guys are such a turn-off that I think of Geico as some sleaze ball, back office operation that if I did have a claim, I would call headquarters and get a “This phone number has been disconnected” recording. 

Before I can grab my remote, these guys continue to pop up.  Geico has obviously spent millions on this campaign and it’s still around.  Maybe the girlfriend is still bedding the CEO.  But seriously, am I wrong?