Oh my. They Were Serious About that Caveman TV Show?
By Stephanie Critchfield on Tuesday, May 22nd, 2007So the Geico Cavemen commercials really are being spun into a TV show? A similar thought came to me when I heard that ABC had green-lighted a one-episode pilot as when I was walking through the mall this past weekend and saw an otherwise good looking man dressed in tattered camouflage shorts, a polo shirt and bright blue sneakers …. “Who told him that was ok?”
Seriously. Who asked us, the America public, if this was ok? What team decided they should take these underdeveloped characters and turn them into their own television sitcom/comedy-drama? Are we really this starved for entertainment? I’d LOVE to have been sitting in the room as the idea was pitched “you know those Geico cavemen ….. that would be a great TV show. Think of the marketing! It would be really popular with the 18-25 segment!” Geico said they were “excited to have an opportunity to do brand extension.” Note: Geico IS getting royalties for use of the characters (ca-ching). However, they did spent $403 million on ad time and space in ‘05 (source: TNS Media Intelligence) which is believed to have gone up 20% in ‘06. Maybe they just want some of their money back?
IMO, characters from commercials should stay in commercials. Dunkin’ Donuts “time to make the donuts” guy didn’t get a spin off, Aunt Jemima didn’t, and neither did the Taco Bell dog or Tony the Tiger. These are corporate mascots not TV show personalities. THAT above anything else is why it won’t work. I don’t want to see Tony the Tiger battle his anger issues, get caught in a love triangle or be stuck in awkward social situations. Sure… brands would love their commercial’s mascots to be spun into a TV show! “Free” branding! But, this one might just bite them in the bottom. This will really not be funny. And I begin to wonder how this might potentially hurt them. Will they appear greedy? If the show flops, will its negative press be tied to the Geico brand? Is any press really good press?
Hey big brands…. you want some killer marketing? Try a viral marketing program a la Diesel.
I would think that this is a gamble for Geico. It could backfire on them big time if the show bombs or if the characters become so awful that the allure of the commercials ceases to exist. I agree - these characters should STAY characters. Of course, if Geico is going to get rid of the Caveman campaign, then what the heck. Then again, they still have the Gecko - and he doesn’t have HIS own show.
Just like the GEICO cavemen are offended by the “so easy a caveman could do it” comments…I’m offended that ABC believes this show would appeal to their audience and that we’d actually be interested in watching it!
I bet it doesn’t even make it half-way through the season.
My thoughts exactly… they were serious?!
What makes the caveman gimmick work is its simplicity: a caveman living in the modern world, and he’s bitter. Got it! Funny stuff. As soon as you try to flesh out a backstory, it turns into drama.
Seems like this show jumped the shark before it even aired.
Nick, that’s brilliant. They did jump the shark before the show even aired. One thing I will give them is at least they started with a funny concept. Have you seen the new talent show (I think its America’s got talent or something) and one of the hosts is David Hasselhoff and another is Sharon Osbourne? Now there’s a bad idea - do we really need another talent show??? - with bad host choices - not sure who has less talent between those two. Good luck with that one.
Jeff - oh no! I hadn’t heard that. Maybe we have too many television stations (does that make me sound old?) and concepting new shows has become a challenge!
I love the geico cavemen commercials they make me laugh hard. most commercial make me want to throw a shoe at the tv. so I hope it succeed in being real big. I will be their biggest fan….
I am shocked at the amount of negativity around the Caveman TV show concept. The Geico commercials are one of the most brilliant commercial character skits ever.
It would have been brilliant had the comedic minds of SNL made Phil Hartman’s caveman character deep, thoughtful and highly intelligent - and with a minority complex at that. They took that skit to the next level…and we all know just how successful many of the SNL skits-turned-movies became.
With some clever writing this series will be a smash hit. If I were a writer I’d be clamoring for a chance to write for this series.
Some early predictions … after the Caveman pilot.