RobArt Penguin

Humor in advertising isn’t new, but Geico took it to a new level. It must have been popular and successful, because so many other companies have copied the approach. Most of them fall flat. Most of them are not funny. Why, because so many advertisers are trying too hard to be funny. The actors know they are supposed to be funny. Peter Sellers always said that the characters cannot know that their behaviors or words are funny. He was one of the best. The joke has to be unexpected. If the advertisers or the actors are projecting that we-the audience are expected to laugh, nothing is unexpected. My favorite? Geico’s “It’s so easy a caveman can do it,” and an annoyed modern neanderthal is commuting and passes that Geico ad while on an escalator. He glides by, barely looks at the offensive ad, looking disgusted. Classic!