Talk:GEICO

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As a Brit from East London, I can confirm that this is an East London accent but the words used are modified to suit the American audience. I.E. He says "fella" instead of "Bloke" I have suffered from being called Australian for 11 years now, not really a problem for me but very insulting to the Aussie's. You guys have just got to get out in the world.

Cheers

Smithy.

OK. We're filthy imperialists... We don't get out in the world... 07:40, 11 July 2006 (UTC)

This has to be one of the most unprofessional companies I've ever seen. Their commercials make the company look like a huge joke. Who would buy insurance from these people?

Oh, I don't know. Maybe someone with the ability to lighten up? Charlie Quebec Delta Echo Seven Sierra Foxtrot 06:18, 17 March 2006 (UTC)

Presumably someone is. The rule of advertising is that you don't have to sell a lot, just to a percentage large enough that they make their sales goals. That's why spam works, for example. Wahkeenah 21:29, 30 July 2005 (UTC)

Contents

[edit] Insureds is the correct term

Hello everyone:

Someone changed "insureds" to "insurees." Actually, "insured" is the overwhelming majority term used by lawyers. The company that writes insurance policies is a "insurer," and the person covered is an "insured." See Black's Law Dictionary, 7th ed. (1999), at p. 811.

The exact definition from Black's is as follows: "insured, n. A person who is covered or protected by an insurance policy."

Yes, this is confusing, since "insured" is also the past tense form of the verb "insure."

Also, "insureds" brings up 599,000 hits on Google, while "insurees" brings up only 3,800, and most of those documents appear to be on Web servers outside of English-speaking countries.

--Coolcaesar 01:41, 15 August 2005 (UTC)

[edit] Picture of GEICO gecko

Can someone provide a picture of the GEICO gecko? --User:Angie Y.

Done for you, Angie. --User:Fahrenme

[edit] The 15 minute tagline

I'm sorry, but that 15 minute tagline barely holds water. I had a fender bender a years ago and other insurance companies gave Me an approximate $1500 quote. Geico's was about $2700. No wonder the uninsured driver rate is high! -- Eddie 11:36, 29 December 2005 (UTC)

That doesn't really dilute the 15 minute claim - you're grieving more over the price. Realize, of course, that insurance is a business impacted by the law of large numbers - you just happen to be one that doesn't fall in that group. Overall, legally, GEICO is required to have justifiable proof that on average they can save the average consumer at least 15% (and they have shown that). They have all sorts of legalese that verifies that.

And with regards to uninsured motorist - insure with one of those other companies, then you won't be uninsured. -- Parrot and Duck

[edit] Gecko Australian now?

I swear the gecko in the commercials used to speak with a British accent (and the article confirms this), but the last two commercials I've seen (the ones where he is CGI and speaking to other animals) have him speaking with what seems to be an Australian accent. Has anyone else noticed this? I'm not an expert on British/Australian accents, but if I'm right it should probably go in the article.

I came here specifically to comment on this. Actually, I think the current accent is supposed to be British too... but it is definitely different. To my American ears, the old accent sounded more "posh" and I think the new accent is more working class, perhaps from a different region. I think the ad people figured "british is british" and ended up with what would be in effect like assuming all Brits would think a Rhode Island accent was the same as one from Georgia.

His accent is definitely more 'common' in the newer ads. Another interesting bit is how his dialogue is more British, especially in the 'Pie and Chips' ad.


Just to set the record straight the accent is from London (East End) - not Australia

Any idea where the previous "posh" accent was from? Jafafa Hots 01:08, 2 February 2006 (UTC)

I know the answer! The Original "posh" accent was done by Kelsey Grammer (makes sense now, doesn't it?) Being the "low cost operator" in the insurance biz, keeping Grammer on and paying his royalties and fees wouldn't make sense.

The original accent sounded NOTHING like Kelsey Grammer! Way higher pitched, impossible. 65.35.93.97 07:25, 14 March 2006 (UTC)

posh accents in England do not exactly have a geographical region associated with them, although many live in london and there are variations. Duracell 04:06, 22 February 2006 (UTC)


Why British at all?4.240.72.177 01:01, 26 January 2006 (UTC)

Why is the GEICO gecko speaking like a Brit at all? Are there geckos native to the Isles? Did the ad agency think Americans would respond more favorably to a Brit? Gecko imagery is famous across the whole US Southwest; why not a Hopi or Navajo spokesvoice? What's the matter, don't want to buy insurance from an Indigenous Person?

As far as I can tell, the gecko was never originally intended to be the mascot of Geico... like all of the other unusual ads, he first appeared in an ad where he was complaining that people were confusing him with geico, saying "I'm a GECKO, not Geico," etc. - just one of their many novelty ads. I think the posh British accent was just there to accentuate his feeling of annoyance at being bothered, etc. Then, because it apparently got a good reaction, the gecko inexplicable reappeared as a Geico "spokesamphibian." Jafafa Hots 01:13, 2 February 2006 (UTC)
Geckos aren't amphibians; they're reptiles!
Doh! Yeah, you're right. For some reason I was thinking salamanders. :( Jafafa Hots 03:07, 12 February 2006 (UTC)
Nobody expects a British gecko! His chief weapon is surprise... ("And cuteness!") Yes, surprise and cuteness... ("And you want to have a pint with him!") I was getting to that. Anyway, read the Hartford Courant article in the external links. ("And they deliver a nasty poisonous bite!") No, they don't. ("Sure?") Yes. ("My sister was bitten by a gecko.") Wrong movie. --Coyoty 19:12, 22 February 2006 (UTC)

I wonder which specific species of gecko he is.Ianthegecko 04:38, 12 February 2006 (UTC)

Just to clarify "posh" British accents are in fact associated with a geographic area, it is what is generically referred to as the "Home Counties" which are the counties that surround London. As for the Gecko being a "cockney" that's unlikely, all though his accent is East, it is too soft in places and is more likely to be Essex (I am a native of Essex). Quite probably his accent is from one of the expansion towns like Dagenham (home of Ford Motor Company - UK).


I wasn't the source for the Kelsy Grammer attribution, but that info is all over the web. I am currently trying to find out who the current (East End London) voice is, and have found out that it WAS originally Kelsey Grammer -- in the very first gecko ad, non-British accent, just his usual "Frasier" voice -- then an upper crust British voice, by Dave Kelley. One source for the first two voices at http://www.tvacres.com/adanimals_geicogecko.htm Now a third actor has taken his place, possibly American doing a soft Cockney. Dave Kelley has stated that he's not the gecko anymore. Source: http://www.mudcat.org/thread.cfm?threadid=88301&page=2&desc=yes#1664545 (find the post from Guest: Dave Kelley). No one at Geico is telling. Can some intrepid Wikipedian find out the answer to this pressing question? :) You can see from the last site mentioned that I'm far from the only one going crazy for this piece of trivia. If you don't want to include it in the article, send to: fragileindustries@yahoo.com. Sorry I'm not a registered user -- actually I was, but I forgot my password. 24.55.93.59 09:38, 28 March 2006 (UTC)fragileindustries

[edit] Parody commercials

I originally wrote that the green cat in the cereal commercial is a puma, but then realized it could have been a cheetah or other big cat in the panther line. Panther covers all bases. Image:Tycon.jpgCoyoty 00:46, 5 March 2006 (UTC)

I was thinking that was more of a parody of the Chester Cheetah _ Cheetos character. 65.35.93.97 07:24, 14 March 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Kelsey Grammer

Someome just added a claim that the first voice of the gecko was done by Kelsey Grammer. I have deleted it. The original voice of the gecko was high-pitched with a posh british accent. Kelsey Grammer has a new england (US!) accent, and speaks in a deep baritone. Even if he faked the brit accent, it would likely be impossible for him to pitch his voice that high - the two voices couldn't possibly be more dissimilar. If you intend to reinsert this claim, please cite a reference. Jafafa Hots 07:29, 28 March 2006 (UTC)

I wasn't the phantom source for the Kelsy Grammer insert, but that info is all over the web. I am currently trying to find out who the current (East End London) voice is, and have found out that it was originally Kelsey Grammer -- in the very first gecko ad, non-British accent, just his usual "Frasier" voice -- then an upper crust British voice, by Dave Kelley. One source for the first two voices at http://www.tvacres.com/adanimals_geicogecko.htm Now a third actor has taken his place, possibly American doing a soft Cockney. Dave Kelley has stated that he's not the gecko anymore. Source: http://www.mudcat.org/thread.cfm?threadid=88301&page=2&desc=yes#1664545 (find the post from Guest: Dave Kelley). No one at Geico is telling. Can some intrepid Wikipedian find out the answer to this pressing question? :) You can see from the last site mentioned that I'm far from the only one going crazy for this piece of trivia. If you don't want to include it in the article, send to: fragileindustries@yahoo.com. Sorry I'm not a registered user -- actually I was, but I forgot my password. 24.55.93.59 09:34, 28 March 2006 (UTC)fragileindustries

The new Geico Gecko voice sounds a lot like Marc Warren in my opinion. --Savethemooses 22:04, 11 April 2006 (UTC)
The NPR report on Geico adverts has an excerept from the original(?) gecko ad. http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=4773426 - Certainly does *not* sound like Kelsey Grammer; I'm not familiar with Dave Kelley so I can't comment on that. -- Logotu 03:04, 5 June 2006 (UTC) (PS: I am American and the current Gecko doesn't sound Australian to me)

NOT GRAMMER. Well, I was right. I remembered the first ad where the gecko was annoyed that people were confusing him with geico, and it was a posh brit accent and it sounded NOTHING like Grammer. The article as currently written also shows that a Geico rep describes it as a posh Brit accent. But here's the final nail in the Grammer Gecko coffin... I have found an interview with Kelsey Grammer where he states that he is NOT the original voice of the gecko. Link: http://www.wizarduniverse.com/movies/xmen3/000276301.cfm So... why is it all over the internet? Why are many people unable to tell the difference between a high-pitched british accent and a deep-pitched american accent? Simple - there are lots of idiots "all over the internet." No offense. Jafafa Hots 05:58, 5 June 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Radio Commercials

I don't know if it's the same on regular radio, but on internet radio, the commercials don't use the gecko, they use some dumb, high-voiced guy.

[edit] GEICO/Commercials

The final lines of "GEICO/Commercials" need re-written, they are mis-placed duplicates. Better yet, additional information could be added to the final paragraph, in order to expand it to two or three. 24.175.54.43 14:51, 20 June 2006 (UTC)

[edit] cleanup tag

I haven't read the whole article, and don't have time to fix what I'm sure are problems throughout...what spawned the tag was a number of instances of unencyclopedic text I saw skimming through beginning with reference to GEICO commercials "tell[ing] you"... Tomertalk 06:53, 9 July 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Gecko's Voice

The article states that Marc Warren does the voice for the Gecko now. Granted, it does sound very much like him, but GEICO's website does not state who the voice actor is. Is there anyone who can confirm if/that it is Warren? - SigmaEpsilon → ΣΕ 14:32, 26 July 2006 (UTC)

I've read that Jake Wood is the current Cockney voice of the gecko. Wood's wikipedia page even lists him as the voice of the character. Does anyone know of any confirmation on either one of these actors providing the voice? --HanzoTheRazor 20:10, 27 July 2006 (UTC)
this website credits Dave Kelly as the voice of the Geico Gecko. I didn't see it mentioned in this article yet there is another page pointing to that redlink. NorthernThunder 23:12, 29 July 2006 (UTC)
If you follow the link at the top of that article (the one that says "See my June 2006 post on the new voice of Geico Gecko."), that site lists Jake Wood as the voice. --HanzoTheRazor 00:54, 4 August 2006 (UTC)
Jake Wood is the voice: TV Acres, AnswerBag, Statesman.com, tempest in teapot, mostchoice auto insurance quotes, but the most convincing is FT Worth Star Telegram Balloonman 05:49, 6 August 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Massachusetts

Anyone know why GEICO doesn't provide insurance in Massachusetts (and only Massachusetts)?

maybe they don't like you in Massachussette HAHAHAHAHAHAHAOmerlives 18:37, 26 August 2006 (UTC)

Currently the insurance laws in Massachusetts make it unfavorable to insure there. An example of this is in NJ was recently opened back up in response to insurance law reform. Krizhek 16:27, 9 October 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Popular culture

I removed this from the "Popular Culture" section:

"In addition to its notoriety from the gecko commercials, Geico also has a reputation of providing its customers with inexpensive products without requiring the customer to spend time dealing with insurance agents, due to its extensive use of its web site and 24-hour telephone service as its primary points of sale. As a result, Geico is increasingly becoming popular among younger generations, to whose interests Geico's business model seems to cater well."

It doesn't seem to have anything to do with "Popular culture," but what their markets are, and it seems like advertising. Even if it is "increasingly becoming popular among younger generations," (which should be cited), it could do with something like:

"Geico is increasingly becoming popular among younger generations."

(Also, I have an account, but I'm too lazy login—for this atleast) --74.130.131.120 23:16, 24 September 2006 (UTC)

If something similar could be written less pov, & w/ proof, okay,...

To claim "... and 24-hour telephone service as ..." would be extremely pov, as I'd experienced it directly.

Several years ago, my exwife had asked about locating an insurance company.

I grabbed a telephone receiver, & I called Geico. There was a recording, the operations were completely closed at that specific time.

I searched for another insurance number, & this one did connect to an actual human.

Since then, I have determined that my wife is even moreso my exwife than she had been then; so, I certainly have no idea where she purchases insurance now.

My below comments are certainly pov; but, I'm not putting them on the primary page, for now,...

hopiakuta ; [[ <nowiki> </nowiki> { [[%c2%a1]] [[%c2%bf]] [[ %7e%7e%7e%7e ]] } ;]] 02:18, 24 October 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Zagar.

It does seem to me that many issues are neglected in many of these articles.

It is my impression that Warren Edward Buffett & James Douglas Muir-Leno {& General Electric} are two major factors in my being ruled by the goobernator, Arnold Alois Schwarzenegger. Mr. Schwarzenegger often makes comments that sound somewhat analagous to the caveman advertizing {cavepersons, cavepeople}. He, also, makes fascinating comments about my assemblyperson, Bonnie Garcia, & she makes similar comments about him. It does seem that Republican'ts are no better than Democan'ts, nor anyone else, at keeping the pants closed.

Certainly, Mr. Schwarzenegger's policies towards the underclass, homeless, disabled, are very much like the Geico caveadvertizing.

There is debate ^^ above ^^ about whether the geckos|gekkos sound Australian &/or British. Although they do sound Australian to me; I've never been to either locale, so, I'm frequently wrong about this.

Is there any debate about whether a British colonial lizard should be advizing us as to what insurance we should waste our money on? This does apply regardless of which region these characters' accents reference.

Budweiser_(Anheuser-Busch)'s character "Zagar" is very similar to these cavepersons in the racist implications.

Thank You.

hopiakuta ; [[ <nowiki> </nowiki> { [[%c2%a1]] [[%c2%bf]] [[ %7e%7e%7e%7e ]] } ;]] 02:18, 24 October 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Split commercials into separate article

What about splitting the info onto GEICO (ad commercials)??? --Gkklein 00:21, 3 December 2006 (UTC)

>>> I totally agree. The 'Caveman' series deserves a Wiki entry in and of itself.

[edit] Google vs Geico

Shouldn't the Google vs Geico case be in this article? --Dan Leveille 04:03, 31 January 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Good news ads

A prominent series of ads is missing - the entire "good news" ads in which a character gives disastrously bad news to a poor unfortunate, but is told there's still good news - and the "good news" is that the bearer of bad news "Saved a lot of money by going to GEICO", which doesn't help the victim at all. JAF1970 17:04, 10 March 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Ads I have no idea about

OK, so where can I find the curious tomato soda ad? Is it the one with the kid and some crocodile or some other creature walking up to offer...no wait, that's cereal. Anyway, where can I find this tomato soda ad???? JustN5:12 01:19, 20 March 2007 (UTC)

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