Here is a present to the Geico cavemen fans who frequent this site. I found this fortune cookie fortune inside of an ordinary fortune cookie. Two things are unusual about this otherwise ordinary fortune: One, it doesn’t predict the future; Two, it co-opts in broken English Geico’s ‘So easy a caveman can do it’ slogan.

I guess this qualifies as word of mouth or meme marketing, since I don’t think Geico has signed any fortune cookie deals. Though you never know.

‘Yabba dabba doo’ is like a racial slur to these guys

After a brief eclipse, Geico has apparently started running the cavemen ads again. This ad, which aired during the Super Bowl, features two cavemen panning the television series. They cite some common fan complaints: that the makeup looked pretty awful; and they didn’t even use real cavemen. (Or the original cavemen actors).

I have it on hearsay that the company was purposely not running cavemen ads while the television show was on. That’s good, because, you know, you wouldn’t want this whole thing done to death or anything.

Geico’s caveman campaign has started running TV spots for cavemanscrib.com, an extension of their cavemen characters into the Internet world.

If you haven’t visited in a while, they’ve added a lot of new material (when the site loads you select ‘snooze and rejouve’ for the newer interactive content). What impressed me most was the plethora of movies hidden throughout the apartment, all of which I’ve linked directly to from this page, thanks to their Youtube clone, cmoviesonline.com. This is a fictional site that just takes you back to the crib, similar to the fake dating site, iheartcavemen.com (which you can see a fake commercial for on the DVR in the apartment.

The updating of content on this site really will help to make it successful, many sites like this fall by the wayside because they fail to do this kind of updating in any meaningful form.

If you look hard enough on the site, you can find a bonus piece of trivia: the artwork used to decorate the apartment was by Roger Seigmund.

ABC now has official footage from the caveman show online, view at your own peril. What struck me as a major mistake was the sloppy attitude the show seems to take towards the makeup on the cavemen. I swear there was more makeup on the Klingons in the original James T. Kirk Star Trek series, and I’ve never said anything that mean before.

I guess this is a natural course of events: A bad TV show is based on a good commercial campaign which is based on a hypothetical bad commercial. Time will only tell whether or not the pilot even makes it on the air.

This review by Derek Flint of the new Geico Cavemen TV pilot might be ill news to the many fans of the commercials who have visited the site.

To quote:

“The creators have tried to infuse social satire by making the show an allegory for prejudice. They draw astoundingly leaden parallels to every minority group in the world without a laugh in sight. It’s jaw dropping horrendous and actually makes “American Dad’s” lunkheaded topicality seem sophisticated.”

Though the thing which seems to place the show most in jeopardy is the confirmation that none of the original actors we like so much in the original commercials appear in the show. Even though I like the spots, I admit the idea of a TV show concerned me. I’m wondering if the pilot will ever see the light of broadcast now.

Update:
Oh no, here is official footage on abc.com from the pilot.

I first reviewed the restaurant Geico Cavemen ad here, and from the huge comment response I learned a lot of other people liked the ad as well.

Since then I’ve posted on other cavemen spots. With the amount of cavemen commercials out there I felt the need to start this definitive caveman article, which will feature all the current ads, and be updated with the reviews on the new ones when and if they show up.

Additionally, if one more person asks if a caveman is really Val Kilmer, or what the song playing in the airport is, I will go insane. So at the bottom of this article I will also maintain a “Geico Caveman FAQ”. So read the frequently-asked-questions before you ask a frequently asked question. For the love of god, read it first.

Scene from ‘Airport Part II’

Firstly, here are all of the commercials:

The Shooting of the Commercial

Other Cavemen Watching the Commercial

The Restaurant Apology

The News Show

The Airport (Part I)
The Therapist (Part I)

Scene from ‘Therapist Part II’

The Party Balcony

The Airport and Therapist (Parts II)

The Therapist Part III and the News Show Part II

Cavemen see their Sitcom

Bonus Video: The Movie Trailer

Bonus Video: The Sims Golf Date (Super Bowl Pre-Game Show 4 minutes)

Here are additional Geico Cavemen Materials and Sites:

Still of the Airport Print Ad

Up With Cavemen dot com

Cave Man’s Crib / I Heart Cavemen dot com (Flash site)

Official footage on abc.com from the pilot

Tom the Dancing Bug reviews the ABC sitcom

Caveman’s Crib website video 1

Caveman’s Crib website video 2

Caveman’s Crib website video 3

Caveman’s Crib website video 4

Caveman’s Crib website video 5

Caveman’s Crib website video 6

Caveman’s Crib website video 7

Caveman’s Crib website video 8

Caveman’s Crib website video 9

Caveman’s Crib website video 10

Caveman’s Crib website video 11

Caveman’s Crib website video 12

Caveman’s Crib website video 13

Caveman’s Crib website video 14

Caveman’s Crib website video 14

Caveman’s Crib website video 15

Caveman’s Crib website video 16

Caveman’s Crib website video 17

Caveman’s Crib website video 18

Caveman’s Crib website video 19

Caveman’s Crib website video 20

Caveman’s Crib website video 21

Caveman’s Crib website video 22

Caveman’s Crib website video 23

Caveman’s Crib website video 24

Caveman’s Crib website video 25

Caveman’s Crib website video 26

Caveman’s Crib website video 27

Caveman’s Crib website video 28

Caveman’s Crib website video 29

Caveman’s Crib website video 30

Reviews and Summaries

Scene from ‘The Party’

I don’t want to repeat my previous reviews, so follow the links at the top of this article if you want to read previous articles and comments from visitors. I will say that I do like these ads, and enjoy how they not only build on each other, but present different snippets of branching storylines. For the most part they tend to stay true to the characters they have created (passive-aggressive metrosexual cavemen), and always do an awesome job of allowing viewers to read between the plot-points.

Sequentially, in the Geico cavemen universe, we have the making of the first offensive “so easy a caveman can do it” ad. On the set a caveman boom-mic operator is insulted and storms off.

One of the more subtle but persistent jokes starts to creep in in the next ad, where we see the cavemen in their posh apartment (one of them is playing the piano) watching the ad and becoming miffed. The subtle joke is that even though the commercial makers realized on the set that cavemen were still around, they just continued through with their campaign. This kind of oblivious persistence of their offensive campaign is one of the funnier themes of all of the spots.

The crown-jewel of these spots is still the restaurant ‘apology’ by one of the ad men. From this point (as best as I can tell) the story branches out in at least two directions. One of the more pro-active cavemen takes his crusade against the campaign to a news show, and I believe he calls the ad agency again after seeing a caveman billboard in the airport. ‘But we took them all down’ is probably the unheard line on the other end of the airport phone call.

From Super Bowl 2007 Pre-game Show

Meanwhile another caveman discusses his thoughts and feelings about the ads with his therapist. Somewhere during all this there is a caveman party where one of the cavemen is ostracized for going with Geico for insurance, and another one is getting back together with his ex-woman. (You can find out more about the girlfriend thing by digging through the Caveman’s Crib website).

The Movie Trailer (I assume) was pieced together by the ad agency from used and unused footage, probably as a viral marketing attempt (there is no caveman movie in the works as far as I know).

The Geico Caveman FAQ

Q: “Is one of the cavemen Val Kilmer???????”

A: No.

Q: “My cousin told me that caveman is Val Kilmer!! Is it?? It looks like him!”

A: No, it’s not.

Q: “I swear to god that is Val Kimer!”

A: It’s not.

Scene from the fake Movie Trailer and FAQ

Q: “Who are the Geico cavemen?”

A: One is Ben Weber, another is Jeffery Daniel Phillips. John Lehr is also a caveman, and recently was on TBS’s ‘Ten Items or Less’. Which actor is which caveman is a question I do not have the answer to right now.

Q: “Is the therapist Adrian from the Rocky movie? Talia Shire”

A: Actually, yes.

Q: “Please name all the extras and the cameraman and the best boy and key grip and anything else you can thin of!!”

A: No.

Q: “Who makes the cavemen ads for Geico?”

Scene from ‘The Airpot (Part I)’

A: The Martin Agency. I don’t know if they do all the other Geico ads, but they do some of them at least. My best-guess is that they currently produce them all.

Q: “What is the airport song / where can I get it?”

A: The song is “Remind Me” by R�yksopp.

Q: “How can I make the song my ringtone?”

A: I am told Cingular sells it. Check your local ring-tone provider for more information.

Q: “Is a Geico caveman TV show in the works?”

A: According to this article, the Variety has alluded to ABC picking up a caveman TV show:

‘BC has plans to turn a series of quirky commercials for insurance provider Geico which revolve around a number of indignant cavemen into a half-hour comedy pilot, Variety reported. Taking its cue from the ads, Cavemen centers on three prehistoric men who must battle prejudice as they attempt to live as normal 30-somethings in modern Atlanta.

The pilot was written by Joe Lawson, the advertising copywriter who was behind the ads, as well as other comedic Geico spots. Daniel Rappaport, Guymon Cassady, Will Speck and Josh Gordon are executive-producing. Speck and Gordon, commercial directors who recently helmed the Will Farrell feature Blades of Glory, are on board to also direct.

The single-camera pilot is based on a series of Geico ads that promote the insurance company’s Web site as so user-friendly that even “a caveman could do it.” The spots follow cavemen as they react with offense to the derogatory slogan in modern locations such as a cable news program, an upscale restaurant, the airport and a therapist’s office.

Jeff Daniel Phillips and Ben Weber play the cavemen in the Geico spots; it is unknown whether they will also appear in the series.’

Here is the full article in Variety:

‘Winner for most unusual piece of development this pilot season goes to ABC, which has turned a series of quirky Geico commercials into an actual half-hour comedy project.

“Cavemen” will revolve around three pre-historic men who must battle prejudice as they attempt to live as normal thirtysomethings in modern Atlanta.

Project, from ABC TV Studio, is penned by Joe Lawson, an advertising copywriter who was behind the “Caveman” ads — as well as other Geico commercials (think the cockney-speaking Geico gecko, and the reality TV spoof “Tiny House”).

Daniel Rappaport, Guymon Cassady, Will Speck and Josh Gordon are exec producers. Speck and Gordon, commercial directors who recently helmed the Will Farrell feature “Blades of Glory,” are on board to also direct.

The single-camera laffer pilot is based on the Geico ads that promote the insurance company’s Web site as so user-friendly that even “a caveman could do it.” The spots follow cavemen in modern settings, reacting with offense to the derogatory slogan. In one, a Geico spokesman apologizes and takes the Neanderthals out to dinner.

Other blurbs include the sensitive, modern cavemen peeved at the offending slogan while encountering Geico ads in everyday life, including the airport.

The caveman commercials were created through the Richmond, Va.-based Martin Agency. Jeff Daniel Phillips and Ben Weber play the cavemen in the Geico spots; no word if they’ll make the transformation to the TV project.

Few TV shows have come out of the commercial sphere; more frequently, TV characters live on in 30-second spots long after their shows are canceled (think “ALF”).

But it’s not without precedence: The 2002 CBS comedy “Baby Bob” revolved around a talking baby character that was first seen in a series of dot.com ads. After the Eye canceled “Baby Bob,” the character returned to its commercial roots, spending time as a pitchman (pitchbaby?) for Quizno’s Subs.’ Thanks to DrLar for finding this.

Another article on the show in development.

Ask more questions here and (maybe) they will get answered. Feel free to post the answers to some of the lingering questions I have left here.

I’m thera-PISSED

Another Geico Caveman ad is out, and I promised this comment thread I would go without food sleep or water until I had posted every available caveman ad.

While this is “Awful Commercials”, once in a while it’s good to take a look at something I consider the opposite of awful to establish some kind of bearing, and to say, no I don’t hate every single television advertisement ever made.

This ad features one of the Geico cavemen talking to his therapist about the fictitious “So Easy a Caveman Can do It” Geico.com campaign.

In some respect, this ad seems to be geared towards existing fans of the ads. It supposes the viewer has seen enough of the previous ads to not go “huh? what the hell is going on”. Geico runs so many varied ads I think this is not an issue, someone who doesn’t know what is going on has a lot more other ads being flung their way to make up for it. And since when has anything made sense on television? Not since I blew out my eardrum at the firing range, I can tell you that much.

My biggest concern, being a fan of the caveman ads, is that they would eventually damage the integrity of the humor and characters, in the classic style of such greats as George Lucas and the director of Godfather Part IV: Blood Rain. This ad stays the course like a lone superpower in a troubled land full of oil resources, and delivers some great subtleties of acting and character that made the beloved restaurant ad famous. The speechless reaction of the therapist to the caveman’s sniping comment, along with the phone call from his mom he puts on speaker phone drops the audience into a rich three-dimensional setting of human interaction in just thirty seconds.

Great work guys!

Your nose is lucky I’m here via satellite

With a healthy round of brand new Geico caveman spots out, it’s about time for an official Caveman Update. This comment thread is a pretty good testament to the fact that the original three Geico caveman spots were very well loved.

Geico has a good thing going right now. People are willingly searching out their commercials online and, at least in the case of the cavemen, becoming emotionally involved in them.

And if the subtleties of the cavemen escape certain viewers, there’s still the Geico gecko for others to latch on to. I personally think the gecko was originally “exciting”, but definitely grows weary with shades of the “yo quero” Taco Bell dog the more I see him. A lot of people certainly disagree.

This spot, an apparent spoof of Fox News, features the miffed caveman trying to defend his dignity while on the hot seat. It doesn’t disapoint or do a disservice to the original spots. Very well done.

I hate it when people stop walking on these things.

This spot featuring the caveman in the airport, seeing a large print ad for Geico’s imaginary “so easy a caveman can do it” campaign, is artfully pulled off with no dialogue. (Information on the song here) The caveman’s disgust is palpable. Again, another great addition to the caveman family.

There seems to be more footage of this commercial, which makes me wonder if there’s a longer edit of this. The caveman can be heard saying “I’m looking right at it!” in the missing footage. More one this footage later in the post.

I’m callin’ you out

Here is the original trilogy, the first two :15 spots that lead up to the classic :30 “caveman apology” ad. It’s a nice little story arc that packs a lot of nuance and character information in just one minute. I hate to be a corporate cheerleader, but these ads are some of the best to hit the airwaves. Based on the sheer number of comments and pleadings for more caveman links, I know I’m not alone in thinking this.

Me smell Caveman Oscar! Ug ug.

And finally, the Geico Caveman Movie Trailer. I don’t know anything about this, other than it’s a movie clip on YouTube. I’m sure it’s just a parody, but I’m not sure if it was put out by the advertising agency, or cleverly edited together by a fan. What makes me think is that it was at least someone associated with the agency is that there appears to be clips of unused footage from the airport spot in the trailer. Perhaps this was in a longer cut I haven’t seen, and the rest are staged shots cleverly edited together by a die-hard fanatic.

More likely it seems to be a nice viral marketing piece released just for YouTubery, and will probably play pretty nicely for Geico. If anyone has actually seen this air on TV I’d like to know.. My guess is that it was never intended to air. I have to say I’d love to see this as a commercial in a movie theater during the trailers.

Geico really has the holy grail of the television advertising world right now. Don’t screw it up!

Caveman sticking it to the non-cave man

This is one of my favorite spots currently airing on TV. It’s an ad for Geico car insurance featuring maligned cavemen. Some of you may have seen the lesser played version of this spot where after the announcer finishes recording the commercial, we see an angry caveman on the set throw down a boom mic and storm off.

This is one of those commercials that is so weird it does a good job of getting your attention. And metrosexual passive-aggressive cavemen are just funny.