GEICO: Techniques of Advertising

Advertising techniques are tools. The tools you need to attract attention, engage minds, trigger emotions, and change what people think. All of which can lead to sales. Weather it’s for a political campaign, a product or a service. For instance, the GEICO commercial, it uses many different techniques to grab the attention of consumers. Like many advertisements, comedy is used to trigger emotion; they implement a brand character, inject drama, promise a benefit, and create a metaphor as a slogan.
The GEICO marketing team has developed a series of short comedic skits to attract consumers and trigger a sense of emotion. The emotional response from the consumer is an enjoyable one. As we all love a good comic relief therefore this commercial can hold our attention. Because of the enjoyable experience created by the advertisement it is unlikely that the commercial will be forgotten. It will be talked about in conversation and enjoyed over and over again. This is one of the many cleaver techniques used to create endless remembrance of the advertisement. But there is a flaw. That flaw is a lack of explanation and description of the company. The advertisers have gotten away from the importance of explaining what their product is about. But by creating a character or “mascot” as a representation of the company consumers can quickly relate the two.
The use of the caveman as a brand character helps advertisers spin off other ways of advertising. The caveman has become something like a mascot. A simple poster or billboard of a caveman with the word GEICO under it can trigger a consumer to remember their slogan “so easy a cave man can do it”. In the world we live in today that slogan is a very clever one. The world around us is so fast paced with so much to do and so little time to do it in this slogan represents what almost every American is looking for, simplicity.
“So easy a caveman can do it” is a metaphoric slogan used to create a symbolic representation of the key idea advertisers want to communicate. They have created this metaphor to represent an unforgettable characteristic of the brand which is simplicity. “So easy that a caveman can do it” symbolizes the fact that their service is so easy that the consumer is left thinking, “If it’s that simple maybe I should try it!” This slogan also provides a clever way for the advertisers to feature the benefit of using their services. And the benefit to their service is simplicity.
There is a broad target audience for GEICO. It would be anyone with a driver’s license. The comedy used for the commercials cover that market range well. It can be appreciated by a wide range of ages with the known exception of small children who aren’t very interested in car insurance. As for a young teenager about to get a license, they may see this commercial, enjoy the comedy, and become very fond of it. They may then try to pursue their parents into using GEICO’s services just because they liked the commercial.

Message Appeal

The MGD 64 ad that I referred to in my most recent blog entry, triggered my attention as a consumer. As an advertising student, I feel that the advertisers pointed out the most important point about the product – that it only contains 64 calories. They emphasized this component using both the humor and guilt element of appeal. I thought it was hilarious when the girl ordered her margarita with few calories, and she barely had a shot in her glass. It proved the point of the beer. You can have a whole beer or a sip of margarita for the same amount of calories. After the commercial was over I felt that if I wanted a beer, I should drink this new MGD 64 if I plan to keep my figure. Even if it is not the intention to create a feeling of guilt amongst women, it can easily be done with out much knowledge of it. This ad may or may not have conscientiously wanted to evoke guilt but either way I felt guilty.
Verizon Wireless has run a very effective collage of advertisements recently. The catch phrase, “We never stop working for you”, illustrates the underlying message – In every level of communication needs, from customer service to advancements in technology, Verizon Wireless works for you. In a newer commercial, a potential motel guest is confronted by a daunting looking attendant, who warns him that there is only one room left. This available room, he cautions is a dead zone, wear calls are lost and emails aren’t received. Surprisingly, the motel guest boats that he’s got the Verizon Wireless Network. Then he is reassured of his converge by the overwhelming mass of Verizon Wireless employees crowding outside. This commercial plays on natural fear. The viewer is afraid that if he doesn’t have adequate coverage, that he’ll be left in a dead zone, or worse. The viewer is prompted to second guess his service and to potentially purchase Verizon service.

I don’t exactly like the Geico commercials that feature the cavemen. The message appeal is too weak and very stale. The commercials seem to be informative, but they are actually an appeal to humor. This unfortunately doesn’t work too well, because the commercials aren’t funny. One such ad, features a caveman in the airport, seeing a large wall ad for Geico’s, “So easy a caveman can do it” campaign. The caveman is insulted and rightfully so. He walks off disappointed and hangs his head low. The look of disbelief and disgust is palpable. This dry humor does nothing to enhance the product or to attract any real attention. The commercials would do good to switch to another form of appeal. This form is obviously not working.
Allstate commercials are very serious and evoke a sense of fear. However, the commercials are fear-mongering. The premise behind the commercial is to have better than adequate coverage, because without it you’re doomed. This seems to play over well at first, but fear soon leads into dread, and dread becomes panic. Dennis Haysbert, is famous for asking, “Are you in good hands?” But in one commercial he strolls through a car accident that has been drastically slowed down. The driver is shown, as coffee slowly fly’s through the air, as he creeps into the rear of the car ahead of him. Mr. Haysbert steps in to remind you that safe drivers get a discount. This is too real and too overwhelmingly scary for the viewer. This appeal would work well in a toned-down fashion – with an adequate balance of fear and hope.