Geico Insurance ad
Moderator: mark
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Bill Minnick
- Posts: 115
- Joined: Wed Apr 05, 2006 9:52 am
Geico Insurance ad
Just heard that the maestro appears in a new TV ad for Geico Insurance. Something to keep an eye out for.
Commercial
I saw the commercial last night. I have DVR and can rewind live tv, so needless to say, I watched it about 10 times. It's a really funny commercial. Burt playing the piano and singing about the Geico gecko and don't get rear-ended. So funny!
Oh god, I saw this too.
Then tonight, I saw Geico commercial number 2 in the same ad campaign, the same riff, a similarly very dull retro person sitting next to ... "Charo," yes the hootchie-coochie girl is is making embarassing (especially for-a-70-plus-year-old) sexy moves like she used to do on Merv Griffin's show and J Carson's too ... per her schtick ha-ha. She was booked as a novelty then, as now. (OT she's a somewhat talented flamenco/nylon string guitarist FYI but no one knows it, forget I said this).
Look I know Burt knows what he's doing. There are most all of us on this forum for whom he's provided first-order genius. Moments, hours, so many sublime musical songs/themes/moments/you-name-it. For those reading here, you "get it."
Then ... there are the hundred-millions of others, not musicians, that consider his name and work kind of a 60's curiosity, his work is kind of embarassing cultural effluvia and Burt himself is kind of an outdated-groovy person ..
No one twisted his arm to be in this or in Austin Powers. But at this rate, I have the feeling the general public will put Burt in the same league as Lawrence Welk.
Look Burt is a sport, knows everything of which I write and doesn't care ... maybe he's thinking a million views of this commercial plus A. Powers etc., will attract a few young people that have the ultra rare (nowadays anyway) melody-gene to seek out his work. Young musicians who kind of understand what he's doing, to try and create Burt's rare musical perspective.
But knowing how great and profound Burt is, I hate that he's anywhere NEAR the Charo neighborhood. Maybe next week it will be Rip Taylor tossing confetti. (Is Rip still alive?) ...?
I just don't know what to think. .... I think of the ultra-cynical advertising agencies that must have called Burt up to do this. This is what I hate.
That said, any Burt is good Burt. Hooray Burt.
OT: Can you guys believe it's 1 year away from the 10-year anniversary of Elvis Costello's LP with Burt, and the sublime video-concert in NY recorded on "Sessions at West 54th." I recently got the discontinued VHS off Ebay with the additional cuts of "My Little Red Book," and Elvis singing "Anyone Who Had A Heart," and one other I forget ... awesome. These tunes weren't on the Trio Network broadcast I taped .. wish we had the whole thing on DVD, all takes, warts and all.
Then tonight, I saw Geico commercial number 2 in the same ad campaign, the same riff, a similarly very dull retro person sitting next to ... "Charo," yes the hootchie-coochie girl is is making embarassing (especially for-a-70-plus-year-old) sexy moves like she used to do on Merv Griffin's show and J Carson's too ... per her schtick ha-ha. She was booked as a novelty then, as now. (OT she's a somewhat talented flamenco/nylon string guitarist FYI but no one knows it, forget I said this).
Look I know Burt knows what he's doing. There are most all of us on this forum for whom he's provided first-order genius. Moments, hours, so many sublime musical songs/themes/moments/you-name-it. For those reading here, you "get it."
Then ... there are the hundred-millions of others, not musicians, that consider his name and work kind of a 60's curiosity, his work is kind of embarassing cultural effluvia and Burt himself is kind of an outdated-groovy person ..
No one twisted his arm to be in this or in Austin Powers. But at this rate, I have the feeling the general public will put Burt in the same league as Lawrence Welk.
Look Burt is a sport, knows everything of which I write and doesn't care ... maybe he's thinking a million views of this commercial plus A. Powers etc., will attract a few young people that have the ultra rare (nowadays anyway) melody-gene to seek out his work. Young musicians who kind of understand what he's doing, to try and create Burt's rare musical perspective.
But knowing how great and profound Burt is, I hate that he's anywhere NEAR the Charo neighborhood. Maybe next week it will be Rip Taylor tossing confetti. (Is Rip still alive?) ...?
I just don't know what to think. .... I think of the ultra-cynical advertising agencies that must have called Burt up to do this. This is what I hate.
That said, any Burt is good Burt. Hooray Burt.
OT: Can you guys believe it's 1 year away from the 10-year anniversary of Elvis Costello's LP with Burt, and the sublime video-concert in NY recorded on "Sessions at West 54th." I recently got the discontinued VHS off Ebay with the additional cuts of "My Little Red Book," and Elvis singing "Anyone Who Had A Heart," and one other I forget ... awesome. These tunes weren't on the Trio Network broadcast I taped .. wish we had the whole thing on DVD, all takes, warts and all.
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ron hertel
- Posts: 481
- Joined: Tue Mar 16, 2004 7:08 pm
In keeping with my belief in the old adage "If you can't say something NICE about someone - don't say anthing at all" ...... I can only say that it's NICE to see that Burt is looking out for the financial well being of his wife and kids and it's always NICE to see Burt on television. I was watching TV last night with a small group of friends who know I'm a Bacharach fan and everyone's jaw dropped when the GEICO ad appeared.
Sorry to bump, and especially sorry for my earlier overlong post. It seems like I'm alone in standing up for Burt's honor, it's my stupid-ass problem I thinking and who gives a dam about Burt's image to defend etc. I'm serious about this, I'm wrong to even bring it up. Really, who cares? For all of us he's above criticism. He can do any TV he wants and I/we love it either way.
But then ... after watching the hawker of cheesmo guitar-replicas, the masked man of mystery - guitarist "Esteban" this weekend on HSN/QVC or whichever... I remembered he's so far the the only other celebrity to appear on Geico commercials. I got steamed.
OK ... so far, the celebrity Geico commercials have featured: "Charo," "Esteban" and Burt. In the eyes of this ad agency something is very mistaken. Burt has never been nor will ever be cheese or sniff cheese. But that's what the 99 percent of other people will correlate when they see it.
I hate Geico and will alway cringe when this commercial of Burt's comes on. Instead Burt's concerts should break into all networks' coverage like the State of the Union address. Am I missing something?
But then ... after watching the hawker of cheesmo guitar-replicas, the masked man of mystery - guitarist "Esteban" this weekend on HSN/QVC or whichever... I remembered he's so far the the only other celebrity to appear on Geico commercials. I got steamed.
OK ... so far, the celebrity Geico commercials have featured: "Charo," "Esteban" and Burt. In the eyes of this ad agency something is very mistaken. Burt has never been nor will ever be cheese or sniff cheese. But that's what the 99 percent of other people will correlate when they see it.
I hate Geico and will alway cringe when this commercial of Burt's comes on. Instead Burt's concerts should break into all networks' coverage like the State of the Union address. Am I missing something?
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Fool Killer
- Posts: 14
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- Contact:
I'm afraid this isn't a good move
I have to agree with igtmfo33. I love Burt and his music and will always stand up for him; on the other hand, allowing himself to be sold as a cute "old" celebrity, like Charo, demeans him.
I mean, I'm afraid the reaction of this blogger (from the link provided above) will prove to be typical: "...the Bacharach ad creeps me out a bit. In it, a woman recounds getting rear-ended by a Geico customer, and being converted to the company by her dealings with it on that accident. All the while, Burt is spastically singing random song snippets like 'I got hit... in the reeeeaaaarr....' Let's just say that Burt didn't look all that... healthy during the ad. I tried Googling to see if he had any health problems, but I couldn't find anything. Does he always look like that when he's playing? Please let me know in the comments."
And a friend who alerted me to the ad said "he looks like Lurch". (Lurch, as most of y'all know, was the tall and not particularly healthy-looking butler from THE ADDAMS FAMILY.)
Ironically, although I don't think it's a mistake of the same measure, this is not unlike Dionne's unwise decision to become the Psychic Friends pitchwoman. Although Dionne is a pro and an excellent host for any TV show (witness SOLID GOLD), I think she underestimated just how many times those infomercials were to be aired and re-aired and re-aired... unfortunately, if you mention the name "Dionne Warwick" to the typical American, 80% - if not more - will just say "oh, the Psychic friend?"
Putting your image in the careful hands of an obvious, loving, irony-savvy fan like Mike Myers is one thing; allowing to be marketed as "cute & ironic & weird" by a heavy advertiser like Geico is another.
I *love* Burt - I will forever. In fact, a major part of my working on his boxset was a desire to take Burt out of the realm of "cheese" and bring him into the realm where he belongs - as a brilliant American songwriter, one of the greats. I just don't want to see him becoming a joke again!
Alec Cumming
Associate Producer, THE LOOK OF LOVE boxset
I mean, I'm afraid the reaction of this blogger (from the link provided above) will prove to be typical: "...the Bacharach ad creeps me out a bit. In it, a woman recounds getting rear-ended by a Geico customer, and being converted to the company by her dealings with it on that accident. All the while, Burt is spastically singing random song snippets like 'I got hit... in the reeeeaaaarr....' Let's just say that Burt didn't look all that... healthy during the ad. I tried Googling to see if he had any health problems, but I couldn't find anything. Does he always look like that when he's playing? Please let me know in the comments."
And a friend who alerted me to the ad said "he looks like Lurch". (Lurch, as most of y'all know, was the tall and not particularly healthy-looking butler from THE ADDAMS FAMILY.)
Ironically, although I don't think it's a mistake of the same measure, this is not unlike Dionne's unwise decision to become the Psychic Friends pitchwoman. Although Dionne is a pro and an excellent host for any TV show (witness SOLID GOLD), I think she underestimated just how many times those infomercials were to be aired and re-aired and re-aired... unfortunately, if you mention the name "Dionne Warwick" to the typical American, 80% - if not more - will just say "oh, the Psychic friend?"
Putting your image in the careful hands of an obvious, loving, irony-savvy fan like Mike Myers is one thing; allowing to be marketed as "cute & ironic & weird" by a heavy advertiser like Geico is another.
I *love* Burt - I will forever. In fact, a major part of my working on his boxset was a desire to take Burt out of the realm of "cheese" and bring him into the realm where he belongs - as a brilliant American songwriter, one of the greats. I just don't want to see him becoming a joke again!
Alec Cumming
Associate Producer, THE LOOK OF LOVE boxset
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mario serra
- Posts: 30
- Joined: Wed May 11, 2005 11:15 am
- Location: Rome,Italy
- Contact:
Geico's Add
Allthough I doubt we'll ever see the add in Italy,I totally agree with you.Blair,my friend. Bravo! The whole thing seems to be conflicting with what BB States on his Blog on the Huffighton Post.
Thank you all.Till my next post All the best.
Mario Serra
Mario Serra
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KeithBurke
- Posts: 152
- Joined: Mon May 01, 2006 8:22 pm
Cheese-Whiz
Anyone who could have written a piece of music like And The People Were With Her (not to mention why it was written) automatically is exempt from any speculation of ‘cheese factor’. End of story.
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Bill Minnick
- Posts: 115
- Joined: Wed Apr 05, 2006 9:52 am
Geico ad
I haven't seen the ad yet (am I the only one?!) but my initial take was that perhaps Burt is merely trying to show the world that despite his fairly mild protestations in "At This Time," he's still not above having some fun with his celebrity. Surely Austin Powers showed that he doesn't take himself too seriously.
P.S. Keith, I'm not familiar with the story to which you allude, but you've certainly piqued my curiosity!
P.S. Keith, I'm not familiar with the story to which you allude, but you've certainly piqued my curiosity!
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KeithBurke
- Posts: 152
- Joined: Mon May 01, 2006 8:22 pm
And The People Were With Her
Bill:
It has been reported that Mr. Bacharach wrote And The People Were With Her for Ethel Kennedy (Her) in response to the tribute the American public paid to her husband’s funeral train. Further proof that Burt is a class act is that he never publicized that fact (unlike ‘Sir’ Elton John and Candle In The Wind ). He just quietly wrote and recorded the piece without fanfare. I’d say his rep is above reproach.
It has been reported that Mr. Bacharach wrote And The People Were With Her for Ethel Kennedy (Her) in response to the tribute the American public paid to her husband’s funeral train. Further proof that Burt is a class act is that he never publicized that fact (unlike ‘Sir’ Elton John and Candle In The Wind ). He just quietly wrote and recorded the piece without fanfare. I’d say his rep is above reproach.
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susans_moon
- Posts: 2
- Joined: Thu Jul 27, 2006 1:17 pm
If there were a Queen here; it WOULD be Sir Burt!
Firstly, I personally put "Sir" Elton up there with Burt, but that's me. I agree with a few people here on the way Burt appears on the commercial. He does appear blind and not in good health. I also did a Google on Burt to find out and that's where I found this "homepage". So how is his health, anyone know?
