I have to say I like this ad, as annoying as ads get after
seeing them 1,000 times. But a Sumo wrestler figure skating isn’t maybe as
surprising as all that. The Japanese love figure skating, and I wouldn’t be surprised
to see a Sumo wrestler skating someday. But seeing him compete against a
teenage girl is surprising, as singles skating is divided by sex, so that would
be a surprise indeed to see him skating against a young woman in the ladies’
singles competition.
I am on record here as saying I used to hate the old Geico
ads, but now they’re pretty good. The only issue I have with them now is that
these ads now have a joke and then they apply it to saving money on car
insurance, and that’s only memorable whatsoever because these ads are played
and played and played over and over and over again on TV so we can’t forget it.
But if they didn’t have so much money to spend on advertising, maybe the
message should be more memorable for the product. But apparently Geico has
unlimited money to spend on their ads. It’s a wonder they can ever afford to
pay out a claim at the rate they’re spending running TV ads!
My favorite part in this ad is the moves they come up with
for the Sumo wrestler to skate. Once theycame up with the skating Sumo
wrestler, they have to justify it with some moves, and that’s really the fun
part: filling in the concept with the details to make it work. They must have
had fun with this spot, and with all the Geico ads they’ve done.
Here’s the skating Sumo spot:
