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Tuesday, January 26, 2016
UNSKIPPABLE
Read the Ad Age article on Geico's Unskippable commercials and share your thoughts on what makes (or doesn't make) this campaign Ad Age's 2016 Campaign of the Year.
I can understand the amusement from the add, because it is creative and different from other ads that are shown before videos on YouTube, but at the same time it's not nearly as creative as it could be. I've seen other ads where I disagree with the content or message, but I appreciate the creativity behind the ad. This is not the case for this ad. I feel that it is cheesey, for lack of a better word. I realize that Geico is trying to maintain consistency by using the same message, but because I've practically grown up hearing that tagline, I find myself growing tired of it and ultimately dismissing it as soon as I hear it. It's overdone, and I wish Geico would have created something new.
I feel that this ad campaign was very cleaver and creative. It was a way to get people to continue to watch ads to see what was going to happen next rather than just skip them. Although, they do not appear to be adding anything to the message other than entertainment and perhaps enticing viewers long enough to hear the full audio message. It appears to be a very innovative campaign when compared to what was being commonly used at the time.
Liz DeGroot: I feel that this campaign is absolutely different than other campaigns although whether it is funny or not largely depends on the consumer. Geico is famous for the gecko, cavemen, and pig advertisements. This takes their simple humor to a new level by having a very unintelligent humor. The idea of posing and having to hold the pose reminds me of something my 8 year old cousin would find funny. However, I find it humorous although not very clever. It is different than other commercials and for those who have not downloaded ad blocker, I can see the merit in watching that instead of another boring commercial before a Youtube video. Although it is a decent ad, I don't see how such a simple and annoying concept could beat out other contenders for advertisement of the year.
I certainly think these short ads are a better strategy than trying to force the attention of the viewers. Most people are likely to skip a longer ad at the first opportunity. Where the advertisements themselves are concerned, I also find this ad campaign better than any previous one by Geico, some which were either nonsensical or just irritating. I view these commercials as actually somewhat entertaining, especially the extended versions where (usually humorous accidents) something happens as a result of the scene coming to a halt.
People are evolving. Advertising has to evolve, too, if it wants to stay relevant and gain the attention of potential consumers. This campaign is a prime example of really understanding and marketing to their target audience. There seemingly isn't a lot you can do with a pre-Youtube-video ad that people hover their cursors over the arrows in the corner, wanting to skip the ad as soon as possible. Realizing this, the creative team decided to go meta and make fun of themselves in a way that gained the respect of many viewers and gave them a chuckle - and certainly stuck around in their minds. I think it's brilliant. It's relatable. And since they used so many advertising clichés, the audience can pick up on their playful tone right away. I don't think every pre-roll ad can do this (once is enough, or people will get tired again), but it was extremely clever of them to do that now. Perhaps it will encourage other agencies to look at campaigns from a different point of view and come up with something new as well.
I think it is a good advertisement because it is shocking and funny. I can see why some would see it as obnoxious but I think the humor targets millennials because it is light hearted and silly. The advertisement catches a persons attention because it is unpredictable, you don't know what the dog will do next. It is also deffinatly memorable with the brand name written big across the screen.
Geico's "Unskippable" commercials do and don't deserve 2016 Campaign of the Year. For starters, I appreciated the vacuum office advertisement and the elevator one. I disliked the family eating spaghetti and the barbecue ones. I typically hate Geico ads because of their repetition and the phrase "15 seconds can save you 15% more". However, at the same time that is well done advertising since that phrase sticks with me even without having to watch the ads. People love to hates things in my opinion, especially advertisements. I was amused by the vacuum and elevator ads because the humor appeals to me, I love the stop frame aspect of their filming. However, the BBQ ad was so dumb to me and I just wanted to skip it. I did not find it creative at all; I found it very basic and boring just like the family sitting down for dinner. How many freaking times has that been done in a commercial? It was interesting to read that they had two dogs while filming to make sure they got the dogs jumping on the table and eating the food. Even in my advertising campaigns class, Geico ads were chosen by classmates as the worst ad and the best ad that they have seen lately. They are definitely hitting their demographics right in some fashion. If everyone seems to be talking about it, they qualify for the 2016 Campaign of the Year. I'm ready for some million dollar Super Bowl 50 commercials!
I think this ad works I found it to be very funny and wanted to keep watching. This ad is very memorable and is something I would show my friends too. This ad will make the brand Geico stick in my head because not only the humor behind it all but because the logo Geico remained on the screen the whole time to remind you what the ad was for.
If I were watching this commercial on TV it wouldn't last more than a second on my screen before I change the channel. I don't find it humorous at all, I'm having a hard time understanding why it was so successful. For me personally, there isn't a call to action or a valid reason why I should go look into Geico's insurance besides there overwhelming "Geico can save you 15% or more on car insurance" slogan. However, what ever they did obviously worked and was quite appealing to their audience. I guess the simplicity of it was rather unique and was enough to get them Ad Age 2016 campaign of the year.
I personally find this advertising tactic to be very creative. It's humorous how Geico took all of these everyday situations, and strategically focused them on the 5second advertisement medium that youtube offers. I always skip those advertisements unless something can make me laugh or catch my eye, but it's difficult because they're limited to a small amount of time. Geico took 5 second advertising to a whole new level. Constantly paving the way for other companies in the ever-changing advertisement world. To wrap up my thoughts, I personally think that Geico produced a well planned, innovative, and humorous commercial that will catch the attention of todays generation.
I really like the main idea of the Geico’s ads. I agree with Martin Agency Senior VP-Group Creative Director Wade Alger when he said “the simple idea works best”. What I like the most about this ad is that the first thing we thing we think about when we see some ad online is “where is the skip button?”, but in that case the ad makes fun of this situation and at the same time turn this on their favor, showing people that 15 seconds is more than enough to explain to their audience how much they can possible save with 15 minutes. The ad also come in many forms and shapes (elevator, backyard, etc) but with the same message and that can be sometimes annoying to people but help people to assimilate the idea and if they ever need car insurance they will remember Geico for sure. In my opinion the ad is funny and deliver the message quick and in an easy way so people get to memorize it easily. Monique Cordeiro Luz
I think that part of the reason why this campaign received so much praise is the fact that it's a preroll ad. I interned at a streaming website's ad sales department over the summer, and a good chunk of my job was sifting through all the preroll ads our partners would send in. I'd say about 99% of those ads were absolutely godawful. Geico definitely chose the perfect time to come out with a preroll ad that makes fun of the concept of preroll ads, especially now with many streaming sites finding ways around ad-ons such as AdBlock. Since these preroll ads are now basically unavoidable, it makes the joke on those terrible ads that much funnier. I also love anything that mocks the "perfect life" presented in ads, so turning a stereotypical nuclear white family into the punchline is a nice change of pace.
This ad seeks to be creative and push the boundaries on traditional commercials. The avid TV watcher knows the frustration behind commercial breaks and often flips through them, ignoring the ads paid for by various companies. However, with Geico they’ve decided to ensure consumers that there is no need to switch channels because the advertisement is simply over. Despite their distrust, they keep viewers engaged as we watch confused as to why the commercial seizes to exist yet continues on screen. The over exaggeration and actors struggling to remain still keeps your interest in the commercial, and thus focused on Geico and its services. Overall, the ad is clever for the first few views. Although I would argue by the third time you’ll be sure to have switched the channel.
After reading the Advertising Age article on the Geico advertisements, I understand how they could have received the award for campaign of the year by embracing the cliches of advertising and solving the advertisement skipping problem. From a viewer perspective however, I hated the advertisements. Every single time they popped up on my Hulu account, I almost felt dumber after watching. The advertisement with the two guys giving each other a high-five was the most irritating ad of them all. The advertisements met their goal of getting their point across before people could skip the ad, but they did not make me want to continue to watch the ad for longer than the 5 second time before being able to skip. The advertisement was definitely innovative and a step towards solving the advertisement skipping problem though.
I think the fact that the Martin Agency took such an unorthodox approach when creating this campaign is why it became so successful. Within the first 15 seconds the viewer is told everything they need to hear and the rest of the advertisement is just a filler, but to most, it’s an entertaining filler. Also, the fact that while your watching a giant dog have a spaghetti dinner or watching two men high five suspended in the air, the Geico logo is smack in the middle of your screen. Even though I enjoyed these commercials I don’t necessarily think it deserved to win the first ever Ad Age Campaign of the Year. Since the advertisement was created so unusually, it works, but overall I find the “Unskippable” aspect somewhat annoying.
I can understand the amusement from the add, because it is creative and different from other ads that are shown before videos on YouTube, but at the same time it's not nearly as creative as it could be. I've seen other ads where I disagree with the content or message, but I appreciate the creativity behind the ad. This is not the case for this ad. I feel that it is cheesey, for lack of a better word. I realize that Geico is trying to maintain consistency by using the same message, but because I've practically grown up hearing that tagline, I find myself growing tired of it and ultimately dismissing it as soon as I hear it. It's overdone, and I wish Geico would have created something new.
ReplyDeleteI feel that this ad campaign was very cleaver and creative. It was a way to get people to continue to watch ads to see what was going to happen next rather than just skip them. Although, they do not appear to be adding anything to the message other than entertainment and perhaps enticing viewers long enough to hear the full audio message. It appears to be a very innovative campaign when compared to what was being commonly used at the time.
ReplyDeleteLiz DeGroot:
ReplyDeleteI feel that this campaign is absolutely different than other campaigns although whether it is funny or not largely depends on the consumer. Geico is famous for the gecko, cavemen, and pig advertisements. This takes their simple humor to a new level by having a very unintelligent humor. The idea of posing and having to hold the pose reminds me of something my 8 year old cousin would find funny. However, I find it humorous although not very clever. It is different than other commercials and for those who have not downloaded ad blocker, I can see the merit in watching that instead of another boring commercial before a Youtube video. Although it is a decent ad, I don't see how such a simple and annoying concept could beat out other contenders for advertisement of the year.
I certainly think these short ads are a better strategy than trying to force the attention of the viewers. Most people are likely to skip a longer ad at the first opportunity. Where the advertisements themselves are concerned, I also find this ad campaign better than any previous one by Geico, some which were either nonsensical or just irritating. I view these commercials as actually somewhat entertaining, especially the extended versions where (usually humorous accidents) something happens as a result of the scene coming to a halt.
ReplyDeletePeople are evolving. Advertising has to evolve, too, if it wants to stay relevant and gain the attention of potential consumers. This campaign is a prime example of really understanding and marketing to their target audience. There seemingly isn't a lot you can do with a pre-Youtube-video ad that people hover their cursors over the arrows in the corner, wanting to skip the ad as soon as possible. Realizing this, the creative team decided to go meta and make fun of themselves in a way that gained the respect of many viewers and gave them a chuckle - and certainly stuck around in their minds. I think it's brilliant. It's relatable. And since they used so many advertising clichés, the audience can pick up on their playful tone right away. I don't think every pre-roll ad can do this (once is enough, or people will get tired again), but it was extremely clever of them to do that now. Perhaps it will encourage other agencies to look at campaigns from a different point of view and come up with something new as well.
ReplyDeleteI think it is a good advertisement because it is shocking and funny. I can see why some would see it as obnoxious but I think the humor targets millennials because it is light hearted and silly. The advertisement catches a persons attention because it is unpredictable, you don't know what the dog will do next. It is also deffinatly memorable with the brand name written big across the screen.
ReplyDeleteGeico's "Unskippable" commercials do and don't deserve 2016 Campaign of the Year. For starters, I appreciated the vacuum office advertisement and the elevator one. I disliked the family eating spaghetti and the barbecue ones. I typically hate Geico ads because of their repetition and the phrase "15 seconds can save you 15% more". However, at the same time that is well done advertising since that phrase sticks with me even without having to watch the ads. People love to hates things in my opinion, especially advertisements. I was amused by the vacuum and elevator ads because the humor appeals to me, I love the stop frame aspect of their filming. However, the BBQ ad was so dumb to me and I just wanted to skip it. I did not find it creative at all; I found it very basic and boring just like the family sitting down for dinner. How many freaking times has that been done in a commercial? It was interesting to read that they had two dogs while filming to make sure they got the dogs jumping on the table and eating the food. Even in my advertising campaigns class, Geico ads were chosen by classmates as the worst ad and the best ad that they have seen lately. They are definitely hitting their demographics right in some fashion. If everyone seems to be talking about it, they qualify for the 2016 Campaign of the Year. I'm ready for some million dollar Super Bowl 50 commercials!
ReplyDeleteI think this ad works I found it to be very funny and wanted to keep watching. This ad is very memorable and is something I would show my friends too. This ad will make the brand Geico stick in my head because not only the humor behind it all but because the logo Geico remained on the screen the whole time to remind you what the ad was for.
ReplyDeleteIf I were watching this commercial on TV it wouldn't last more than a second on my screen before I change the channel. I don't find it humorous at all, I'm having a hard time understanding why it was so successful. For me personally, there isn't a call to action or a valid reason why I should go look into Geico's insurance besides there overwhelming "Geico can save you 15% or more on car insurance" slogan. However, what ever they did obviously worked and was quite appealing to their audience. I guess the simplicity of it was rather unique and was enough to get them Ad Age 2016 campaign of the year.
ReplyDeleteI personally find this advertising tactic to be very creative. It's humorous how Geico took all of these everyday situations, and strategically focused them on the 5second advertisement medium that youtube offers. I always skip those advertisements unless something can make me laugh or catch my eye, but it's difficult because they're limited to a small amount of time. Geico took 5 second advertising to a whole new level. Constantly paving the way for other companies in the ever-changing advertisement world. To wrap up my thoughts, I personally think that Geico produced a well planned, innovative, and humorous commercial that will catch the attention of todays generation.
ReplyDeleteI really like the main idea of the Geico’s ads. I agree with Martin Agency Senior VP-Group Creative Director Wade Alger when he said “the simple idea works best”. What I like the most about this ad is that the first thing we thing we think about when we see some ad online is “where is the skip button?”, but in that case the ad makes fun of this situation and at the same time turn this on their favor, showing people that 15 seconds is more than enough to explain to their audience how much they can possible save with 15 minutes. The ad also come in many forms and shapes (elevator, backyard, etc) but with the same message and that can be sometimes annoying to people but help people to assimilate the idea and if they ever need car insurance they will remember Geico for sure. In my opinion the ad is funny and deliver the message quick and in an easy way so people get to memorize it easily.
ReplyDeleteMonique Cordeiro Luz
I think that part of the reason why this campaign received so much praise is the fact that it's a preroll ad. I interned at a streaming website's ad sales department over the summer, and a good chunk of my job was sifting through all the preroll ads our partners would send in. I'd say about 99% of those ads were absolutely godawful. Geico definitely chose the perfect time to come out with a preroll ad that makes fun of the concept of preroll ads, especially now with many streaming sites finding ways around ad-ons such as AdBlock. Since these preroll ads are now basically unavoidable, it makes the joke on those terrible ads that much funnier. I also love anything that mocks the "perfect life" presented in ads, so turning a stereotypical nuclear white family into the punchline is a nice change of pace.
ReplyDeleteThis ad seeks to be creative and push the boundaries on traditional commercials. The avid TV watcher knows the frustration behind commercial breaks and often flips through them, ignoring the ads paid for by various companies. However, with Geico they’ve decided to ensure consumers that there is no need to switch channels because the advertisement is simply over. Despite their distrust, they keep viewers engaged as we watch confused as to why the commercial seizes to exist yet continues on screen. The over exaggeration and actors struggling to remain still keeps your interest in the commercial, and thus focused on Geico and its services. Overall, the ad is clever for the first few views. Although I would argue by the third time you’ll be sure to have switched the channel.
ReplyDeleteAfter reading the Advertising Age article on the Geico advertisements, I understand how they could have received the award for campaign of the year by embracing the cliches of advertising and solving the advertisement skipping problem. From a viewer perspective however, I hated the advertisements. Every single time they popped up on my Hulu account, I almost felt dumber after watching. The advertisement with the two guys giving each other a high-five was the most irritating ad of them all. The advertisements met their goal of getting their point across before people could skip the ad, but they did not make me want to continue to watch the ad for longer than the 5 second time before being able to skip. The advertisement was definitely innovative and a step towards solving the advertisement skipping problem though.
ReplyDeleteI think the fact that the Martin Agency took such an unorthodox approach when creating this campaign is why it became so successful. Within the first 15 seconds the viewer is told everything they need to hear and the rest of the advertisement is just a filler, but to most, it’s an entertaining filler. Also, the fact that while your watching a giant dog have a spaghetti dinner or watching two men high five suspended in the air, the Geico logo is smack in the middle of your screen.
ReplyDeleteEven though I enjoyed these commercials I don’t necessarily think it deserved to win the first ever Ad Age Campaign of the Year. Since the advertisement was created so unusually, it works, but overall I find the “Unskippable” aspect somewhat annoying.