Sonny's Cozy Tavern

Social insights for successful brands come from real people in real places. Sonny's Cozy Tavern is one of those places. It's like every small-town beer joint across the country. The kind of place where you can learn more in a couple of hours by sitting with the characters at the bar than you could ever hope to learn in a hundred consumer focus groups. Good brands start at Sonny's.

Wednesday, April 8, 2009

What's up at GEICO?

I've always liked the quirky & entertaining advertising done by GEICO.  The Gecko generated unbelievable brand awareness for an auto insurance company that most of us had never heard of before he debuted on TV.  Over the years, GEICO has layered the Gecko awareness campaign with The Cavemen -- successfully driving home the message that buying GEICO online is so easy that even a caveman can do it -- followed by the Celebrity Spokesperson work that delivered customer testimonials in a creative way never really seen before.
I admire that GEICO has always been a brand that takes what they do very seriously, but doesn't take itself too seriously.  They're like the type of friend we all want to have.
But, something has changed at GEICO in the past few months and I don't like it.  To me, it's pretty clear how it happened.  Let me speculate:  The economy is challenging.  Revenue has slowed.  Senior management decided that it's time to get "more serious" with their advertising messages.  "Stop the cute stuff.  Start telling people stuff like we're the third-largest auto insurance company in the country.  We're a big deal.  Tell people that and cut the soft crap."
The recent work reflects that classic CEO mandate -- "just tell them what I want them to hear" (not necessarily what's most relevant or important to them).  GEICO's agency has tried to incorporate uninspiring corporate facts into the existing Gecko creative.  It seems awkward, forced and somewhat patronizing.  in one spot, the Gecko actually gets called into the CEO's office and is told by the exec what he wants to say in the advertising.  It's literally a metaphor for what happened to the agency.  C'mon, do any consumers really care that GEICO is the third largest auto insurer in the country (I actually thought they were bigger)?  
Just like a good friend, good brands don't pound their chest and spend a lot of time boasting about themselves.  No one wants a friend like that.  Create a brand personality that is like a good, trusted friend and you'll likely have a loyal and growing customer base.
What do you think?
- Butch
  
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