GEICO Cavemen
Encyclopedia
The GEICO Cavemen are trademarked characters of GEICO in a series of television advertisements for the auto insurance company GEICO
, that have aired from 2004 to present. The campaign was created by Joe Lawson of The Martin Agency
. In 2004, GEICO began an advertising campaign featuring Neanderthal
-like cavemen
in a modern setting. The premise of the commercials is that GEICO advertises that using their website is "so easy, a caveman could do it"; and that this slogan offends several cavemen, who not only still exist in modern society but live as intelligent, urbane bachelors. Jeff Daniel Phillips
and Ben Weber
played the two earliest cavemen and continuously reprise their roles. Actor John Lehr
appears most frequently as the caveman. Other cavemen are played by Ben Wilson
. The makeup effects for the caveman include facial prosthetics, dental veneers, and lace hairpieces, and were designed and created by Tony Gardner
of Alterian, Inc.
In an online interview with Esquire
, Joe Lawson said that one aspect of the ads is a critique of modern political correctness
.
The cavemen have been honored by the Madison Avenue Advertising Walk of Fame.
"No one said it was going to be easy." The caveman replies that if Geico had taken that attitude, "I wouldn't be having an existential meltdown right now."
Also, at the time of the launch of the Caveman's Crib website, a short advertisement featuring all cavemen at the "hip party" featured on the website was added after every Caveman commercial that was currently airing.
Recently, one of the Cavemen was spotted filming a new commercial (or series of commercials) in Homer, Alaska on the Time Bandit
boat (from The Deadliest Catch TV series). The Mayor of the city presented the caveman with a key to the city.
, was being developed for ABC
. The magazine reported, "'Cavemen' will revolve around three pre-historic men who must battle prejudice as they attempt to live as normal thirtysomethings in modern Atlanta." ABC announced this series for their fall schedule in May 2007. Originally it featured none of the Cavemen from the commercials, but Jeff Daniel Phillips later agreed to join the cast. It premiered on October 2, 2007. In the face of sagging ratings, it was quietly cancelled, automatically being the shortest lived ABC sitcom of the season. In February 2008, a new series of Caveman commercials featured two of the characters spoofing the premise of the show.
The Geico Caveman is Jimmy Springstine.
GEICO
The Government Employees Insurance Company is an auto insurance company. It is a wholly owned subsidiary of Berkshire Hathaway that as of 2007 provided coverage for more than 10 million motor vehicles owned by more than 9 million policy holders. GEICO writes private passenger automobile insurance...
, that have aired from 2004 to present. The campaign was created by Joe Lawson of The Martin Agency
The Martin Agency
The Martin Agency is an American advertising agency based in Richmond, Virginia that is now part of Interpublic Group of Companies.*Freecreditreport.com jingle since October 2007 starring Eric Violette.*"The money you could be saving with Geico"-Clients:...
. In 2004, GEICO began an advertising campaign featuring Neanderthal
Neanderthal
The Neanderthal is an extinct member of the Homo genus known from Pleistocene specimens found in Europe and parts of western and central Asia...
-like cavemen
Caveman
A caveman or troglodyte is a stock character based upon widespread concepts of the way in which early prehistoric humans may have looked and behaved...
in a modern setting. The premise of the commercials is that GEICO advertises that using their website is "so easy, a caveman could do it"; and that this slogan offends several cavemen, who not only still exist in modern society but live as intelligent, urbane bachelors. Jeff Daniel Phillips
Jeff Daniel Phillips
Jeff Daniel Phillips is an American actor, best known for playing a caveman in a popular series of GEICO commercials. He played the part of Maurice in the short lived Cavemen sitcom on ABC...
and Ben Weber
Ben Weber (actor)
Ben Weber is an American film and television actor. He has appeared in TV series including Sex and the City and in films such as Kissing Jessica Stein and Coach Carter. Weber also played David on the ABC Family television series The Secret Life of the American Teenager along with Molly Ringwald...
played the two earliest cavemen and continuously reprise their roles. Actor John Lehr
John Lehr
John C. Lehr , an American film and television actor and comedian.- Personal :Lehr was born on November 25, 1965 in Overland Park, Kansas. He graduated from Northwestern University in 1988. While attending Northwestern, he substitute taught at Kilmer Elementary School on the North Side of Chicago,...
appears most frequently as the caveman. Other cavemen are played by Ben Wilson
Ben Wilson
Ben "Benji" Wilson was an American basketball player who was shot to death on the eve of the start of his senior season in high school.Born Benjamin Wilson Jr. in Chicago, Illinois....
. The makeup effects for the caveman include facial prosthetics, dental veneers, and lace hairpieces, and were designed and created by Tony Gardner
Tony Gardner (designer)
Tony Gardner is an American makeup and special effects designer. He has been involved in films Zombieland, 127 Hours, Hairspray, The Addams Family, Seed of Chucky, Shallow Hal and There's Something About Mary...
of Alterian, Inc.
In an online interview with Esquire
Esquire (magazine)
Esquire is a men's magazine, published in the U.S. by the Hearst Corporation. Founded in 1932, it flourished during the Great Depression under the guidance of founder and editor Arnold Gingrich.-History:...
, Joe Lawson said that one aspect of the ads is a critique of modern political correctness
Political correctness
Political correctness is a term which denotes language, ideas, policies, and behavior seen as seeking to minimize social and institutional offense in occupational, gender, racial, cultural, sexual orientation, certain other religions, beliefs or ideologies, disability, and age-related contexts,...
.
The cavemen have been honored by the Madison Avenue Advertising Walk of Fame.
Television ads
- As a fake, caveman-insensitive commercial is being filmed, the boom operatorBoom operator (media)A Boom operator is an assistant of the production sound mixer. The principal responsibility of the boom operator is microphone placement, sometimes using a "fishpole" with a microphone attached to the end and sometimes, when the situation permits, using a "boom" which is a more intricate and...
turns out to be a Neanderthal caveman who stops the filming and yells "Not cool!" - Two cavemen in their apartment watch the ad from commercial #1 on TV, and take offense at its condescending tone, as it makes cavemen seem less intelligent.
- A spokesman meets with two cavemen in a restaurant to apologize for the promotion, explaining that "we had no idea you guys were still around." One of the cavemen tells the waiter, "I'll have the roast duckDuckDuck is the common name for a large number of species in the Anatidae family of birds, which also includes swans and geese. The ducks are divided among several subfamilies in the Anatidae family; they do not represent a monophyletic group but a form taxon, since swans and geese are not considered...
with the mangoMangoThe mango is a fleshy stone fruit belonging to the genus Mangifera, consisting of numerous tropical fruiting trees in the flowering plant family Anacardiaceae. The mango is native to India from where it spread all over the world. It is also the most cultivated fruit of the tropical world. While...
salsaSalsa (sauce)Salsa may refer to any type of sauce. In American English, it usually refers to the spicy, often tomato based, hot sauces typical of Mexican and Central American cuisine, particularly those used as dips. In British English, the word typically refers to salsa cruda, which is common in Mexican ,...
." The other caveman informs the waiter that "I don't have much of an appetite, thank you." (Writer Ron RosenbaumRon Rosenbaum-Life and career:Rosenbaum was born into a Jewish family in New York City, New York and grew up in Bay Shore, New York. He graduated from Yale University in 1968 and won a Carnegie Fellowship to attend Yale's graduate program in English Literature, though he dropped out after taking one course...
called the roast-duck line "the iconic moment" of the ad series, due to "the surreal contradictions" of cavemen "au courant enough to be unimpressed by now antiquated nouvelle cuisine.") - A caveman on a moving sidewalk at an airport spots a GEICO billboard featuring an overly silly representation of a caveman, along with the insulting phrase. The RöyksoppRöyksoppRöyksopp is a Norwegian electronic music duo from Tromsø, formed in 1998. Since their inception, the band's line-up has included Svein Berge and Torbjørn Brundtland....
song "Remind Me" plays in the background. - A follow up to the fourth commercial shows the same caveman talking on his cell phone, complaining about the offending billboard, saying "I'm looking right at it!".
- A caveman in a psychotherapy session complains to his therapist, played by Talia ShireTalia ShireTalia Shire is an American actress most known for her roles as Connie Corleone in The Godfather films and Adrian Balboa in the Rocky series.-Personal life:...
, about GEICO's attitude towards cavemen. The therapist says that an ad that said "So easy a therapist could do it" wouldn't make sense to her. - The actor who plays the geico caveman is jimmy springstine.it is a man in a costume.
- Continuing the therapy session, the therapist says
"No one said it was going to be easy." The caveman replies that if Geico had taken that attitude, "I wouldn't be having an existential meltdown right now."
- All three cavemen are at a high-rise-apartment party. On the balcony, two of them discuss one caveman's decision to purchase GEICO's insurance because of its low price. The second caveman doesn't entirely fault him, but states that "a little loyalty would be nice" in their opposition to the company. During their discussion, the third caveman interrupts from inside, exclaiming excitedly "Tina's here; we're getting back together!" The first caveman quickly snaps at him, exclaiming, "Hey! Give us a minute!"
- A caveman on a news-type talk show debates a human expert about whether or not cavemen "have failed to adapt." The expert insults the caveman by saying, "It looks like someone woke up on the wrong side of the rock."
- The continuation to the tenth commercial, the woman on the bottom right says about how ego in our society is at the forefront. The man on the left asks the caveman, "Response?". The caveman's response is "Uhhhh, what?!?!"
- The cavemen watch the show CavemenCavemen (TV series)Cavemen is an American comedy-drama show which ran on ABC from October 2, 2007 to November 13, 2007. The show was created by Joe Lawson and set in San Diego, California...
, and ridicule the series. This ad premiered during Super Bowl XLIISuper Bowl XLIISuper Bowl XLII was an American football game on February 3, 2008 that featured the National Football Conference champion New York Giants and the American Football Conference champion New England Patriots to decide the National Football League champion for the 2007 season...
; the show itself had already been canceled. - A caveman dances in various styles in a rather ridiculous manner, remarking how hard it is to dance in such a style, making such exclamations as "GEICO probably thinks this is easy, too!"
- "Match": Focusing on GEICO's sports marketing efforts, a caveman faces Billie Jean KingBillie Jean KingBillie Jean King is a former professional tennis player from the United States. She won 12 Grand Slam singles titles, 16 Grand Slam women's doubles titles, and 11 Grand Slam mixed doubles titles. King has been an advocate against sexism in sports and society...
in a tennisTennisTennis is a sport usually played between two players or between two teams of two players each . Each player uses a racket that is strung to strike a hollow rubber ball covered with felt over a net into the opponent's court. Tennis is an Olympic sport and is played at all levels of society at all...
match. The caveman is winning handily, but when he looks at the scoreboard he realizes that it shows him losing 0-6, 0-6, 0-5. He doesn't understand, until he realizes the tournament is sponsored by GEICO. Feeling set up and humiliated by GEICO, he stands up and says "I get it! I quit, but I get it!" He then notices the chair he was just sitting in also bears a bold GEICO logo. - "Plane Banner": A caveman and his girlfriend arrive at the beach. As the lady begins to disrobe to her bikini a plane flies by with a GEICO banner. The distraught caveman takes his sunglasses off and says "I'll be in the car".
- "Walkin'": Two cavemen ride up to an outdoor bar on motorcycles. At the bar, they see two typically beautiful girls who are clearly impressed by the bikers. The bikers then see a billboard similar to the one in ad #4 (although, since this ad targets motorcycle insurance, the caveman is on a motorcycle). They suddenly lose interest in the women, heading back to their bikes; the women seem confused by the sudden change in the cavemen's demeanor. The song "Hurt You" by The SoundsThe SoundsThe Sounds are a Swedish Indie Rock band. Formed in Helsingborg in 1999, the group's musical style has been compared to New Wave acts such as Blondie, The Cars, the Epoxies and Missing Persons....
plays in the background. - "Number 1 Fan": A caveman is shown on a JumbotronJumbotronA JumboTron is a large-screen television using technology developed by Sony, typically used in sports stadiums and concert venues to show close-up shots of the event. Although JumboTron is a registered trademark owned by the Sony Corporation, the word jumbotron is often used by the public as a...
at a basketball game as the "GEICO Ultimate Fan." He rejects the congratulations of those sitting around him, although he just won court-side seats. As the commercial ends, the arena announcer plugs GEICO, using the "so easy" phrase. - "Metal Detector": A caveman is walking on the beach with his girlfriend, looking for treasure with a metal detector. The device beeps, exciting the couple. The caveman digs into the sand with a net and pulls out a set of car keys with a GEICO key chain attached. He throws the keys and metal detector on the ground and walks away in disgust.
- "Breaking Point": A caveman who is dressed as a caricature of Modern Man sees an advertisement for Geico on many televisions through a window and can't take it anymore; he takes off his glasses, unties his ponytail, and takes off his coat, and runs away acting like his former caveman-self set to "Let Me Be MyselfLet Me Be Myself"Let Me Be Myself" is the second main single, , by rock band 3 Doors Down, from their eponymous fourth studio album. The song was released on on December 2, 2008...
" by 3 Doors Down3 Doors Down3 Doors Down is an American rock band from Escatawpa formed in 1996. The band consists of Brad Arnold , Matt Roberts , Todd Harrell , Chris Henderson , and Greg Upchurch ....
. This scene was used in part for the music video of the same song. - "Bowling": The continuation of the 19th commercial, the caveman comes across a bowling alley and sees two of his caveman buddies there and joins the game with them. The caveman who just came in went first, and one of his buddies went second. While the second caveman's pin sweeper is sweeping the pins, it shows on the pin sweeper an advertisement for Geico with the "So easy" phrase, along with the GEICO logo on the pinsetter. This was also set to "Let Me Be Myself" by 3 Doors Down. This video served as the ending to the music video of the same song.
- "Glovebox": This is a commercial for a Geico iPhone App called "Glovebox" which is demonstrated by a hand model (with an unusually hairy hand). The end of the commercial's script states the app is "So Easy a Caveman Can Do It", which angers the hand model, who is revealed to be a Caveman as he storms off, saying, "Where's my coat? It was suede, with the fringe!"
- "Fire": Part of a separate series of Geico commercials where in which actor Mike McGloneMike McGloneMike McGlone is an American actor, singer and songwriter.He is perhaps best known as the film noiresque spokesman for GEICO insurance posing rhetorical questions in the vein of Robert Stack or Rod Serling, which are then acted out in humorous fashion.McGlone's best-known film credits include two...
walks into an empty room and asks a rhetorical and/or obvious question. In the commercial, his question is "Could switching to GEICO really save you 15 percent or more on car insurance? Did the Cavemen invent fire?" The scene then cuts to one of the Cavemen on a bed reading with a woman, he looks at the camera and sighs, then picks up his remote and turns his fireplace on.
Also, at the time of the launch of the Caveman's Crib website, a short advertisement featuring all cavemen at the "hip party" featured on the website was added after every Caveman commercial that was currently airing.
Recently, one of the Cavemen was spotted filming a new commercial (or series of commercials) in Homer, Alaska on the Time Bandit
FV Time Bandit
The F/V Time Bandit is a commercial crab fishing vessel co-captained by brothers Johnathan and Andy Hillstrand. It is featured on the Discovery Channel series Deadliest Catch. The Time Bandit is a 113-foot house aft boat owned by the Hillstrand brothers that was designed by the Hillstrands' father...
boat (from The Deadliest Catch TV series). The Mayor of the city presented the caveman with a key to the city.
Television sitcom spin-off
On March 2, 2007, Variety reported that a sitcom based on the cavemen characters, simply titled CavemenCavemen (TV series)
Cavemen is an American comedy-drama show which ran on ABC from October 2, 2007 to November 13, 2007. The show was created by Joe Lawson and set in San Diego, California...
, was being developed for ABC
American Broadcasting Company
The American Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network. Created in 1943 from the former NBC Blue radio network, ABC is owned by The Walt Disney Company and is part of Disney-ABC Television Group. Its first broadcast on television was in 1948...
. The magazine reported, "'Cavemen' will revolve around three pre-historic men who must battle prejudice as they attempt to live as normal thirtysomethings in modern Atlanta." ABC announced this series for their fall schedule in May 2007. Originally it featured none of the Cavemen from the commercials, but Jeff Daniel Phillips later agreed to join the cast. It premiered on October 2, 2007. In the face of sagging ratings, it was quietly cancelled, automatically being the shortest lived ABC sitcom of the season. In February 2008, a new series of Caveman commercials featured two of the characters spoofing the premise of the show.
The Geico Caveman is Jimmy Springstine.
External links
- Geico Cavemen Fan Site - unofficial site
- Advertising Industry critiques Caveman's Crib
- Geico Caveman Ads reviewed
- Unofficial Geico Cavemen FAQ and Definitive Video Post Trivia - Portrays one of the Cavemen in the Geico Insurance Commercials Trivia - Portrays one of the "Cavemen" in the Geico Insurance Commercials