Sunday, February 05, 2012

Hilarious, Harrowing Geico Commercial


The Super Bowl commercials will generate a great deal of commentary this week, but while watching the golf tournament today, I saw the Geico "Ew, Seriously, So Gross" commercial, featuring the middle school "popular girls."

On the surface, the commercial is utterly hilarious. It juxtaposes the stereotypical "doofus" Dad, who begins an innovative weight loss program. To prevent himself from eating, he has the popular/mean girls follow him around. They comment (well, more of a sneer really) whenever he attempts to eat, whether it is a late night sandwich or waffles slathered in strawberries and whipped cream. In rapid succession, the girls drip with sarcasm: "Ew, Seriously, So Gross"

The commercial works so well, because the young female actors playing the middle schoolers nail it. The looks, the tone, and even snapping a photo when the man is at his most vulnerable (all alone in his car outside a burger joint, taking in a giant mouthful, and ending with mustard on his face) all work the comedic angle wonderfully.

Looking below the surface, however, a different set of messages emerge that are much more disturbing (isn't this so often the case with popular culture?). Two jump out quickly:

  • The "popular/mean girls" stereotype is alive and well in America's schools and anything that glorifies that image is game for criticism. While the older man asks for this, his facial expressions and reactions to their barbs obviously open past wounds. 
  • The "typical" man presented is frumpy, lacks self-esteem, and unwilling to take wiser steps toward weight loss. In addition, the simple fact that he employs this scheme proves that he must not be that intelligent.
The commercial as a whole promotes both the self-flagellation and status-consciousness that serve as pillars of contemporary culture. On one hand, the man beats himself up for not looking the way culture demands. Second, he elevates the "popular" middle school girls over his "average" status.

The man also presents his case via a pseudo-documentary setting, much like the ones modern audiences have grown accustomed to by television shows such as The Office. Although the man's story is one centered on self-disgust and embarrassment, he holds higher status than the (real life) viewer because he is on television.

Author Chris Hedges discusses the broader consequences of this thinking in Empire of Illusion: The End of Literacy and the Triumph of Spectacle, saying:

Celebrity culture plunges us into a moral voice. No one has any worth beyond his or her appearance, usefulness, or ability to 'succeed.' The highest achievements in a celebrity culture are wealth, sexual conquest, and fame. (32)
What corporations like Geico do not seem to understand is that there are signs and signals being sent via advertising and other mass communication channels that have unintended consequences. The simple response is "it is just a commercial." I would argue, however, harmlessness flies out the window when stereotypes are at the heart of the message.

25 comments:

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Anonymous said...

Nice article.. thanks

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