I Actually Agree With One Million Moms About This Sexy Geico Pig Commercial!
I know I love picking on One Million Moms for their homophobic, scandalized, feigned-moral-outrage over anything and everything that is not repeats of Touched By An Angel, but I do have to agree with them that this Geico ad, which features a woman throwing herself at a sexy, sexy pig. Yeah, a pig. A pig as in Porky, or Charlotte’s best friend. That sort of pig. I don’t even know what they are trying to sell with this ad, because I’m too busy being creeped out by all of the innuendo from the girl who is on a date or something with the piggy.
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It IS creepy, I agree. I don’t think the ad is going to cause our precious young people to start going on dates with pigs or hinting that they would like to “pass the time” with them but it’s just lowest-common denominator advertising, not funny or cute or clever. And it doesn’t make me want to use Geico for my insurance needs.
From the One Million Moms website:
Maxwell the Geico pig goes on a date in Geico’s new piggy commercial. In Geico commercial, the pig and a young female are in a parked car on a lover’s lane. The car is actually broken down, but while sitting there the girl appears to be turned on by the pig. She hints that she wants to make out. She is disappointed when she learns the tow truck is on the way and they won’t be able to “pass the time.”
Geico has succeeded in offending its customers with this inappropriate advertisement. One Million Moms has received numerous complaints because Geico’s new commercial plays with the idea of bestiality. Parents find this type of advertising repulsive and unnecessary. Airing a commercial with an animal in it will surely grab children’s attention, but this is a horrible commercial for families to see. Geico does not have our children’s best interest in mind.
I don’t think every TV spot needs to have “the children’s best interest in mind.” There are many things that don’t need to be marketed to children, and car insurance is probably one of them. It’s not like five-year-old will be deciding what car insurance to buy based on TV commercials. But yeah, I can see where this would grab a kid’s attention, it’s a talking pig! Playing Fruit Ninja!
I’m not really surprised this is the best that the creative team behind the Geico ads could come up with. It seems like we are inundated with stupid commercials constantly, and instead of actually selling us a product, which is what good advertising does, a lot of creative teams just come up with a gross idea that will get them attention in the never-ending onslaught of sell, sell, sell. Advertisers just need to realize that sometimes consumers don’t need to be grossed out or scandalized in order to get their brand on our radar. They could, ya know, just tell us about their product and not make us feel like we need a long, hot shower to wash the creep off after seeing their ad.
(image: You Tube)
