You know, I've been too nice to Geico for far too long. It has some of the worst commercials ever; repetitive, irritating, and, in one particular commercial 'storyline', dedicated to saying that their product is picking on nonexistent minority groups. You've probably seen it by now -- the initial Geico commercial that says 'so easy, a caveman could do it', at which point, one of the crew, a Neanderthal, gets ticked off and leaves. The commercials that follow have: cavemen holding a discussion with a Geico representative who tries to apologize, while they act snidely obnoxious; cavemen visiting therapists to complain about their Geico anxiety; cavemen arguing with television commentators; cavemen treating other cavemen as outcasts for using Geico insurance.
In short, according to Geico commercials, cavemen are obnoxiously elitist middle to upper-class citizens, who are somehow deeply culturally offended about the use of the word 'caveman' to refer to someone of limited intellect. And in case you couldn't get enough of these smug jerks, they're getting a television show.
Just what I needed. Another television show full of superiority complexes trying to insult my intelligence. Can't someone petition Geico and ABC to stop this before it gets out of hand? What next, collectible caveman polo shirts?
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Comments: 34
WM: They're funny... once. Unfortunately, they appear 20 times a day.
Jenny: I always found the Geico rep and two cavemen at the fancy restaurant most annoying... mostly because it makes them sound (and look) like snobby, pretentious jerks. If this is supposed to compel me to like Geico because snobby, pretentious jerks don't like it... it's not working.
I mean that is caveman if you think about it long enough.
or maybe I just think like a caveman.
They were elitists, by the way, that's why they ate the Neanderthals.
I like the Gecko with his teeny tiny coffee mug. I think that is adorable - I want one.
But in the end, they are just commercials. There is so much more to get enraged about.
I think if handled right they could be a funny show. Most likely something to watch when no movies I want to see are on.
Come on, buddy; Linda and I think they're hilarious. The eyerolls, the indignation, the satirical parody of the snobby yuppie-class.
What's wrong, Austin? Aren't you, "Schmart?" ;-)
Those I turn off the television for.
As for them getting their own show, well I haven't watched anything on maintstream commercial television for years, so this will probably just be another one I have never seen. Someone looked at me funny just last week when I said I'd never seen a single episode of Seinfeld.
Why did we get six or seven more of them? Aside from 'so you'll remember it.' Just because I remember a commercial, doesn't mean it's for good reasons. I understand the concept of negative advertising - if enough people talk about something, even negatively, you're likely to check it out - but frankly, I'd rather not have some smarmy Neanderthal complaining about how tough life is because his people were mocked by a car insurance company while eating meals that are worth more than I spend on food in a week. If you want to take that as 'the commercial mocks minority groups who complain of being oppressed or exploited by depicting them as spoiled', that's one way to look at it.
But some commercials make little sense to me, or make me seriously question what the creator was thinking, or become lengthy series like this one has. I don't think we need a situational comedy about yuppie cavemen. Or yuppies, for that matter.
Just like that silly AFLAC duck and the Yo Quiero Taco Bell dog.