I noticed in this weekend’s NASCAR race, the Geico 400 in Chicago, the Geico Caveman was the honorary starter in a very obvious marketing tactic by Geico. Usually it is a high profile celebrity who is privileged with ordering the drivers to ‘start your engines’. In the race Geico humanized their longtime Caveman character, suggesting he is of celebrity status. The Caveman character has become such a recognizable character that his presence resonates the slogan, ‘so easy a caveman can do it’. I noticed the Caveman character has been used by Geico since 2004, so seven years after first airing the Caveman as a trademark of Geico the company has the caveman making live promotional appearances. I would be surprised if even Old Spice continues to use their ‘ultimate man’ to represent the brand for another five years. The Caveman has become a mascot for Geico that has almost lasted a decade. It also shows the strength of the original advertisement campaign; that buying Geico car insurance is so easy anyone can do it.The message pushes strong customer service and ease at buying something that can easily bring stress to the consumer. It is very clever to have such an important message bundled up in the presence of one character who doesn’t even utter the name Geico or have the logo on him anywhere. The Caveman is also a different approach to advertising where the Caveman character actually dislikes Geico because of the insulting suggestion that cavemen are stupid. I think this approach makes the Caveman character more likable and relatable through his emotions. It is a well thought out character whose appearance gives great brand recognition.
Here is a collection of the Caveman commercials
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3F3qzfTCDG4&feature=related
Here is a link to the race highlights which show the Caveman starting the race: