Well? What do you think?
I ask because Ralph (a friend and mentor) asked me that question last week after I posted George Tannenbaum’s critique of the recent entertainment-heavy ads for Audi and Dell.
In Tannenbaum’s post, he argued for Dave Trott’s thesis that all purposeful communications must contain three elements:
- Impact
- Communication
- Persuasion
Since Ralph’s question about my opinion of the Geico ads came in response to another critique of ads using Trott’s model, I wanted to stick with it.
What Do I Think?
Here’s what I said to Ralph… and he agreed:
I think Geico succeeds in all three areas, plus they get bonus points…
Impact… we never know what they’re going to hit us with… but it always seems to come from interesting angles. And they invest enough in production to never let ads grow stale. There’s always something new hitting us.
Communication… regardless of the humor, they always share that we could save 15% or more in 15 minutes or less by switching to Geico. They are Swiss-watch-like consistent with their core message.
Persuasion… their humor is always directly tied to the sales message… using the joke, not superfluously, but to reinforce their communication.
Plus, they get bonus points, for running multiple campaigns that appeal to multiple personality types at the same time. Have you noticed that?
Your Turn
What do you think of Geico’s campaign, in general? I’m sure we can all point to a rotten apple or two in the bunch given they write and produce so many ads, but in general, I think they’ve excelled at getting their core message across and becoming known – and largely liked – before they’re needed.
And isn’t that one of the primary measures of any advertising?
Geico did it right. And continues to. All 3 elements are in most of their ads. Unlike most other big brand ads.
Bring back the cavemen! Those are the ones that hit me between the eyes.
First, I think the tagline “Save 15% or more in 15 minutes or less” is one of the few, widely recognizable — and functional — taglines to have been created in the last decade and a half. Sure, it’s a mouthful, but in an era lacking strong taglines that stands out. And more remarkable is Geico’s ability to use it more like a “Brandable Chunk” than a tagline — they mix it up and place that line in different spots in the ad, said from different characters, using different contexts, in order to keep it fresh and keep the audience in some small amount of anticipation as to where it’ll be used.
So I think the ads are great.
But who cares what I think, the real answer is that the ads work. Geico has gained tremendous marketshare and put so much pressure on Progressive that they were forced into creating the “Flo” campaign to try to counter it. I think that speaks volumes. As they say, the poof of the pudding is in the eating. These ads did what we hope every ad campaign will do for clients.
Sorry to disagree with Jeff, Duane and Tim. Here’s why:
Are the ads entertaining? Yes sir. nearly 100% of the time.
However when it comes to Impact, Communication and Persuasion… Nope.
The entertaining messages do not tie into their tagline.
After years of going with the name brand agent based relationship insurance plans from State Farm, Allstate and Farmers, I got fed up with an agent who could not explain a rate hike nor did he try to keep my business. So I decided to shop around and spent about 90 minutes picking a new plan based strictly on price. Progressive became my insurance company for 18 months due to the savings.
Geico was more expensive. They could have earned my business if the price was right. But when you tell your potential customers that you will save $$ by switching to them and it’s not true, the advertising tag line also fails.
My wife and I play an ad recall game every once in awhile. 5 minutes after a commercial break, I’ll ask her to name the companies or products that were advertised. Never has she been able to identify correctly the auto insurance company that saves you 15% in 15 minutes.
The ads should be for the discount insurance industry that you can shop online. Because that’s the call to action response that occurs. If Geico is actually gaining business, I believe it’s due to the times they are the lower price. In the meantime, I’ll enjoy their entertaining ads, even though they can’t persuade me to become their customer.
If Geico brings back the cavemen, I will beat them squarely between the eyes with a dead gecko.
They can’t win everyone over. But at the same time their message is head and shoulders above any of the other big insurance companies.
I’d also like to know what Tim & Crew think of Progressive’s ads. Personally, I think Flo gets way off target too many times. And she’s annoying.
Some guys think Flo is hot though, which I think is why (a) Progressive keeps her around and (b) her ads are tolerated. To me the ads have just gotten weird lately, like the one where the mom and family all slowly morph into Flo. Creepy.