So this is a prime example of the Geico "gecko" campaign for the insurance company. Overall it seems that Geico advertising strategy is to get people to love the little gecko and his accent, all the while he will be spouting off information about how great the insurance is. This really seems to be ineffective to me because compared to the other companies Geico is not exactly taking control of the market. Their commercials do a lot of branding but do not further any knowledge of why Geico is better than some of the other leading brands like State Farm or Allstate. Also there is no clear "call to action" so people will feel no need to go investigate the product until they find themselves really needing insurance.
There may be no doubt that when you think insurance you think Geico, but for many consumers that is not enough because as soon as you think Geico you will also think about all the other ads that are just as memorable and offer more examples of services or what will be covered. So what should Geico be doing?
The Gecko is cute and memorable and everyone knows what company you are talking about when you hear about the gecko so he should stay on as a part of the marketing campaign. These ads need to lose the office/business atmosphere that most viewers wont be able to relate to and instead take this gecko and put him out doing the things that  people will want to be doing, in vehicles they want to be insured.

A new commercial might look like this:
The Gecko is riding in a fast convertible on a windy and high cliff road. Various things fall in his way or fall towards him, but he dodges them like a champ and ends by driving right off the cliff and landing perfectly safe on a lower road. While the Gecko speeds away a voice over tells the audience that "the gecko always knows he is safe on the road, and with geico you can be too." All the while "bad to the bone" is playing in the background.

Getting to know the product...

So last friday I was out on my longboard enjoying the nice beautiful weather and also seeing about trying a few new tricks. I was enjoying the ride quite immensely when I came to a spot that I very much enjoy because of the technical difficulty and the amount of speed it gives you. I was trying to execute a very sharp turn and also slide my wheels so i would look cool. I did not succeed... in fact I crashed and banged myself up a little. I was upset to say the least. I consider my self a very good longboarder and love speed and hairpin turns and just the thrill of it all.

A few hours later I was walking by the same spot and to my excitement I saw another person on a longboard rollin around the streets. I thought to myself "he isnt gonna try anything cool... no one is cool like me around this area." Then to my amazement I saw him go down the exact same spot I crashed in, doing a better trick than i was failing at, and all of it in front of some passing ladies! UGH! I was and still am very upset about it. It was like a massive slap in the so called skills I thought I had. 

This  experience has brought me two things though: a renewed desire to push my longboarding to new and exciting levels, and also a thought about what this product is really all about and how as a consumer I think I could be comvinced to buy this product. 

  Seeing is believing, and while I have seen the trick that I was outdone by on the internet and in other videos before I have never really seen it done in person. This moment had me thinking that if this one trick has me so worked up and so excited about my sport then how can I translate this to an advertisement?  I think one way would be to take this exact scenario and just film it. Show a kid trying and trying to do a hard trick on a standard shaped not very awesome board. Then when he has given up and feels defeated another person rolls up does a better trick and while they are doing it there is a shot of the bottom of the board where we see the company name, followed by the second rider riding away with a smile. I think giving people the fantasy that the board is what will make them a better rider, even though it's basically false, will get them looking at the board they ride and up and to the stores to buy new and "better" boards! Making the company money and furthering the sport as a whole. 

Youtube, a new kind of advertising

Youtube is offering a new medium of advertising for companies that want to show off their products and build up some stoke for their consumers. The interesting thing about it is that in the example I have posted, the video is not about the product at all. Yes the longboards are featured and have a constant presence in the video, but there are some interesting factors. First the longboards shown are not made by the company that is posting the videos the company seems to just be telling an amazing story and encouraging people to use the product in general. Second is that this form of advertising has to be totally voluntary by the consumer to even be viewed. A youtube video is never going to jump out at you and force you to watch it. Third and final is that the video really focuses on the experience of the riders and even shows the boards breaking and failing along the way... how is that good advertising for a board company? It works because you see people out enjoying the sport and taking it to the next level. In this example you are transported to another land and just get to sit back and wish you were there longboarding in the streets of south america as well. I think this form of advertising is very effective and is taking all kinds of industries to a new market.

Why advertise during the superbowl?

I, like many, always really enjoy the ads that play during the superbowl. This year was no exception the laughs seemed to be nonstop during the various time outs and halftime break. As I was thinking on what I wanted to blog about for today I realized that I felt a little unsure what the main point of most of the superbowl ads are. Obviously they are still ads and still trying to sell us all on something, but at the same time so many of these ads seem to focus on comedy and entertainment rather than actually selling anyone on anything. I know that there is the strategy that if you can make a consumer remember an ad they will remember the product, but what do you do when the product really is just so overlooked in the actual tv spot that no one knows what the commercial was for and so they do not ever use that product. My case and point for this is the "Go Daddy" web hosting company. Every year they put up an almost sexy commercial that goads you to go online and see more, but no one wants an errand from a company that many will never need much less understand what is. The other problem is that if people want to see scantly dressed women doing things online, most likely they will not go to "Go Daddy." I just cant quite seem to find the line here between just entertainment and actually advertising. All in all though I was entertained, so thanks for spending all that money to get me a laugh go daddy...

How to sell the thing I love.

This video is a classic example of how my favorite activity is advertised to the public and I have been thinking a lot about how I want to pitch and sell things lately. I have been looking at the longboard industry in general and I think that they have a really good things going for them with the youtube channels and the online presence on forum based websites like silverfish, but what would happen if a company like this wanted to attempt to break into television based ads? When would their ads run? and during what shows? how would they present their product and get people excited about it?
If I was in charge of coming up with this type of an ad here is what I would do:
This type of commercial would have to be catered to a specific audience, so it would likely only be played during specific shows like perhaps the X-games or maybe the "Dew Tour" both extreme skating and sporting events that people that would enjoy an activity of high skill and adrenaline would enjoy and be likely to watch.
As for what the actual commercial would show this is the fun part... Following the recent advertising movement in transcendence and creating a culture based on a product this ad would not do any outlining of specs or build options for the board, instead of talking about the board I want to show people the way riding and owning this type of board will make them feel. The add would start with a still shot of a random hairpin corner in the road, no music just a few birds chirping. Then almost out of nowhere a longboard rider would ride into the shot and start to do a "standy" slide that turns the board sideways and skids all 4 wheels across the pavement instead of letting them roll. During this trick the camera shot would zoom in on his face and go into slow motion. In this shot the face would be blowing in the wind and have a slightly changing look of total peace an happiness that would be surrounded by graphics of cartoonized peaceful patters to add to the illusion of getting out of the real world and finding the meaning of life. Then the shot would end with the rider shooting off down the rest of the hill and a logo of the company would fade into the shot.

I think that would get me excited about longboarding and riding and getting out there on a board like that one that helps me achieve happiness.