Ew. Seriously? So funny.

The insurance company Geico has been producing funny and memorable commercials for a while now. Some people say that their strategy of running several different types of spots at once is counter-productive to maintaining a unified, memorable message. I think what they're trying to do is throw out a bunch of stuff in the hopes that ONE will stick instead of putting all of their eggs in one basket.

It's a strategy that works for me. I don't like the gecko, especially the commercial with Richard Simmons. I don't care for the pig either. I can't tell you how many times I've seen those commercials, but I still have no recollection of how the images tie to the message or what the message is.

But I think they hit it out of the park with the talking heads "we needed to save money" line of ads. The opening is always the same: a person or couple sits down talking to an off-camera interviewer about how money is tight and so they need to cut back. Then they propose a ridiculous solution to their money problems: karaoke dating service, security panther, pet possum.

But I think this one tops them all:

 

The genius of these commercials is that at the start they could be for anything. The talking head interview is such a cliché that just about any product could and has used it. So from the beginning we're set up to at least take the commercial at face value. Then the people leap to an absurd conclusion that they think will solve their problem.

"Ew. Seriously? So Gross" is the best of the bunch though because it taps into a more generalized anxiety than the others: people's concerns about their weight and their ability to fit in. We're a heavyset nation that is becoming more and more concerned with shedding fat and becoming more active to compensate for our mainly sedentary lives. You're very unlikely to hear people say these days, "You know, I think I need to sit around the house and put on a few more pounds." We're much more likely to say we need to get up, move around, and lose some of this weight.

But we're even more likely to just kick back and reach for a handful of snacks. So we identify strongly with this guy's desire to create a healthy lifestyle and understand that he needs some motivation. The beauty of it is that the motivation comes in the form of these middle school girls. Adolescence is probably the time when we were most conscious of our appearance. Appearance was status in those days. We were sure it led to the things we wanted and needed most - a high position on the social ladder and a boyfriend or girlfriend.

Now that we're older (and interested in buying things like insurance), appearance has slipped down the list of important things in our lives. What better trigger to get us back to that adolescent emotional core than a bunch of adolescents whose sole purpose is to remind you that you need to lay off of the fatty stuff?

The set-up and execution in the commercial is great. A medium shot of the guy in his T-shirt, searching the fridge for a snack. This shot allows us to see him reach in and pull out a huge sandwich, sniffing it and smiling. Suddenly a reverse shot of him with the middle school girls in the background. "Ew. Seriously? So gross."Cut to a closeup of the guy. Disappointment lingers, then he reluctantly puts the sandwich back.

As he reaches into the fridge to put the sandwich back, we cut to a bird's-eye close-up of another hand continuing that action, setting down a big plate of waffles and bacon. My first thought was "Yum." But as soon as that thought could enter my head, we cut to the girls again in a medium long shot. "Ew. Seriously. That is so gross."

As much as the commercial is playing with the idea that older people need to give up fatty foods, it also plays on the idea that the only form of communication that middle schools girls use is curt and repetitive phrases. Middle aged men and women are are the target audience and are likely to have or to know young people who talk in this irritatingly abrupt manner and can feel superior to them conversationally even as the young girls make them fell inferior in their eating habits.

Returning to the commercial, once again the man cannot have the food he wants and ruefully grabs a menu, but with a smaller pause than the first time. Before he opens it, we cut to him biting into a burger. I love the fact that he doesn't eat this burger in the restaurant or wait until he gets home. He's eating it in the car shamefully as though he can't even be around other people. This moment of silent shame and perhaps guilty pleasure is interrupted by the flash of a cameraphone. "Ew. Seriously? Dude, that is so totally--"

"Gross. I know," says the man as he tosses the burger into the sack, a blob of mustard smearing his face. The director and editor of the commercial know their comedy and have managed to make the most of the pacing in this thirty second spot. The reaction time to the girls has sped up each time we return to them. In the first scene, there's a moment of hesitation after "So gross." In the second scene, he immediately reaches for the menu after "So gross." But the third time, he abandons the burger before the girl can finish.

The man has got to hear those messages of disgust over and over again until he says it for himself. Not unlike an audience who has to hear the company's message over and over before it becomes ingrained in part of their responses. Geico picked a winner with this one - a relatable commercial that pokes fun of its target audience in a way that lets them be self-deprecating while at the same time making fun of a younger demographic so the target audience can feel superior.

Well played, Geico. Well played.

Next up: Seeking a Friend for the End of the World (maybe at a dollar theatre near you)