Prolific insurance advertiser GEICO is back with more “hilarious” TV commercials. This time, two couples are excited to share how much they love their new homes — despite clogging problems and noisy pipes. Are either of these ads worthy of viewers’ attention — or are they just loud distractions dressed up in dumb jokes?
The first ad, “New Apartment Clogging Problem,” starts off with a young couple in their kitchen.
“We love the new apartment,” the woman smiles.
“The natural light is amazing,” her husband chimes in.
“Hardwood floors . . .”
“There is a bit of a clogging problem,” the man says as they both look to the ceiling.
In the apartment above, an oddly stoic family of six dressed in Amish-looking garb is clogging (a type of folk dance that looks a lot like tap dancing) like ghoulish marionettes in their living room.
It sounds as loud and out of place to us as it does to the renters.
Returning downstairs, the woman says, “At least GEICO makes it easy to bundle our renter’s and car insurance.” Pendant lights sway overhead.
“Yeah, helping us save even more,” the man says.
Cut to the creepy family, who are clogging in the kitchen while eating pasta . . . and as they fold laundry . . . and finally, a scene of the youngest boy clogging while brushing his teeth in the bathroom, his feet kicking with abandon beneath his too-short pants.
As the GEICO logo appears on screen, a voiceover rises above the racket: “For bundling made easy, go to GEICO.com.”
Below: The GEICO commercial, “New Apartment Clogging Problem.”
The next ad, called “Trouble with Noisy Pipes,” is similar, except the couple here are new homeowners.
“We finally moved in,” says the man.
“It’s a great old house,” his wife adds. “Good bones, wraparound porch . . .”
“The pipes are . . . making strange noises.”
The camera pans to a doofy-looking guy in a Scottish kilt playing bagpipes while curled up inside a cabinet beneath the sink.
The blaring continues as Bagpipes accosts the new homeowners in the basement (he leers out from behind the water heater) and in the bathtub as the man prepares to shower.
Below: The GEICO commercial, “Trouble with Noisy Pipes.”
What these GEICO commercials get right
No doubt many people think these GEICO ads are genius, that they transcend advertising by turning staid and stale sales pitches into branded comedy breaks that everyone loves to watch.
That’s a bunch of hooey and here’s why.
What these GEICO commercials get wrong
1. They aren’t funny.
GEICO’s ad agency, The Martin Agency in Richmond, Virginia, goes to great lengths to make its ads stand out — and its go-to solution is comedy.
But all advertisers are trying to stand out, and a great many of them are also trying to be funny.
The predictable result is every ad looks the same.
As legendary ad critic Bob Garfield wrote in his book, “And Now a Few Words From Me” (read my review here):
“Most of the best advertising ever created is nonhilarious. As things stand now, though, a commercial pod on TV is a series of comedy blackouts, some funnier than others, but all at some point beginning to run together, depriving all of them of the very memorability that ostensibly commended the humor solution to begin with.”
2. The ads are godawfully loud.
The use of too-loud, incongruous noise is one of advertisers’ most sadistic gimmicks. And GEICO is one of the worst offenders. Two of its ads earned dishonorable mentions in my popular post, “Ear-ritating: How advertisers misuse sound to get our attention.” Beyond the infernal squealing of “Little Pigs” and the shrill jabbering of “Pinocchio,” the company has additionally assaulted our ears with “Ratt Problem,” “Tag Team Helps With Dessert,” and the list goes on and on.
I wonder, if the goal of these ads is simply to turn heads and keep the brand top of mind, then why even bother with a storyline? GEICO might just as well save its money and make ads with firecrackers popping off in front of its logo, or somebody walking across a floor covered in bubble wrap.
3. There is no compelling reason to buy.
What real reason does GEICO give for prospects to choose it first when gathering quotes?
It’s certainly not “bundling.” The entire insurance industry has been doing that forever.
Yet this insipid idea is literally the only reason GEICO offers in both of these 30-second ads.
What GEICO should have done instead
How about if the creatives behind these ads put half as much thought into what makes GEICO different or better than competing insurance companies as they’ve put into contriving these gags?
Instead of wasting two-thirds of their air time on lame jokes that serve as little more than excuses to make a terrible racket, why not communicate something useful, such as tips for buying insurance?
Or how about conveying little-known facts about the company?
Did you know that the Government Employees Insurance Company (GEICO) was founded in 1936 by a husband and wife team to provide auto insurance to federal government employees and their families? Might prospective insurance buyers not like to hear actual reasons to make GEICO their first call — such as high customer satisfaction rates or the fact that more than 15 million policyholders trust the company to insure 25 million vehicles nationwide?
These ads specifically target renters and homeowners. Why not tell this audience about things they should look for when renting or buying a new home?
Heck, why not fascinating facts from American history? Or literally any other topic that might pique people’s interest and intellect?
No, I suppose there is no fun in that. This is the idiot box we are talking about, and advertisers seem determined to live up to the name.
GEICO’s “clogging” and “noisy pipes” commercials: The Cranky Ad Review verdict
What more can I say about these commercials that I haven’t already said?
These ads are noisy. They’re unfunny. They give prospects no reason to buy.
GEICO has produced quite a few engaging and entertaining ads over the years, but these are simply annoying.
Ad rating: One clogged-up creative process out of five.
If you were to shop for insurance quotes, which company would you call first, and why? Share your answer below.
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I agree, most of the recent GEICO ads are so annoying I mute them. However, I do like the one with the aunts.
Yes, Anonymous, “Aunt Infestation” is a good one. Genuinely funny!
Aunts is a classic, yes!
Agree completely. I believe the “Rat/Ratt” clip was among the first. It was charmingly bizarre and somehow took me back to college dorm life back in the day. Granted, if you asked me what the ad was for, I’d have to think on it a bit….
Everything since–clogging, fencing, etc.–continues to beat a dead horse and is simply no longer clever.
Gimme more Dr. Rick. I suppose he’ll become tiresome one day. But it all plays out the same way, no?
If the irritation of clogging, etc., shrouds the message, the hilarity of “becoming your parents” erases it altogether.
You’re right. It seems to be a humor competition among the insurance companies. At least Geico and Progressive make a valiant, yet tiresome, effort. The rest–State Farm, Liberty Mutual, Allstate–wouldn’t know humor if it bit ’em in the ass.
Hell, they probably think the Three Stooges shorts are early fifteen-minute versions of Guiding Light.
Great comments, Joe. There is a big difference between GEICO’s best work — the gecko, the cave men, Spy Mom, and Dr. Rick, as you mentioned — and these ads, which sacrifice clever wit for grating audio gimmicks. I’ll take “Aunt Infestation” (below) over “Noisy Pipes” any day!
And why is Liberty Mutual still showing that lame commercial of the family around the Christmas tree when it’s almost Groundhog Day?
And my “favorite” Geico commercial is where the overzealous HOA president commits a federal felony. This from a “government employee” insurance company?
Edit: Oops, sorry. That’s Progressive. But they’re all the same.
Wow. I hadn’t seen this commercial before, but you’re right — that was bad!
Agreed, Robert. Then again, maybe that’s the joke? 😛