Sunday, May 1, 2016

The Mystery of the Brotein Shake- Geico Commercial

Image result for geico commercial lifting weights
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1AFZQOfj7nw

While watching a show on the discovery channel, this commercial came on. Of course i had seen the commercial previously, but i had never really stopped to consider how it was trying to appeal to the general population or the manner in which it communicated that message. The commercial depicts a man who progressively gets more and more muscular as the camera shifts away from him and then back to him. This visually represents the main idea of the ad which happens to be "more." The interesting thing I saw in the commercial is that it in no way justified its claims for how it would bring more savings and more options. It says that Geico Insurance would bring a customer more savings and more options, however besides the mention that Geico has RV and motorcycle insurance it offers no explanation as to how Geico will get you "more." In addition, the ad uses bits of information about Geico sandwiched in between puns about lifting and the term "bro" to keep the interest of a viewer and to associate the commercial with a funny experience. Puns such as "brotato chip," "Teddy Brosovelt," and "brotein shake" trigger an emotional response from the viewer. The purpose of this is to ensure that people remember the commercial and hopefully buy their insurance. Another device used in the commercial is the appeal to someone who wants to be more muscular or is insecure about their body because the man in the commercial who "knows about more" is the one who is muscular while the man who is less informed is relatively slender in build. To someone who might desire a more muscular body, this gives the message that Geico and getting ripped might somehow be correlated. How exactly, I have no clue. The last style I took away from the ad is the blatant appeal to men. The "bro" puns and men lifting weights clearly appeal mostly to men, and so by tailoring the commercial to men Geico would hope that more men buy their insurance. This may be a reflection of the stereotype that men handle the finances of the family and decide something like which insurance may be best.

1 comment:

  1. As a dude who uses the term "bro!" quite often, this commercial has always had a strong appeal towards me. Its awesome that you point out how Geico distracts the viewer with a barrage of bro puns. I have always been distracted by these puns when the commercial comes on, and never taken the time to question the validity of what exactly is being advertised. Geico delivers the appealing image of a guy getting shredded in the gym, but the connection with insurance and the actual product being sold is clearly missing. While I'm not at the age in which purchasing insurance is a concern, this commercial still fails in convincing me why Geico is the superior insurance company. I sincerely enjoyed reading your review of this ad, it was "brotastic!"

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