I’ve always felt that Animal, the Muppet drummer for Dr. Teeth and the Electric Mayhem, might have been helped by the proper psychotropic medication. On medication, however, his explosive and wildlyexuberant drumming might have suffered. It’s a trade-off, really…
TheGeicocommercial begins with an unremarkable middle-aged couple sitting on their couch, with the guy professing that they love their house, and have lived there for years. “Yeah, but there’s an Animal in the attic,” adds the lady…
…and so there is, flailing away at his drum kit while vocalizing such snatches of speech as “Yeah Yeah YeahYeah! Drums! Drums! Aaaah! An-im-al!
When not loudly pounding on his drums, Animal invades the kitchen, literally swings from the rafters, and slides down the bannister. Remarkably,all his unwilling hosts can do is try to ignore him. At least Geico makes bundling their car and homeowners insurance easy…
In a closing scene, we are shown Animal shambling across the couple’s yard, the length of broken chain around his neck a nice touch. Animals just have to be free, ‘ya know…. 🦊
I have to confess that I’m pretty ticked that I don’t have my flying car yet. Now I really wouldn’t have wanted one that looked like a small rocket ship, as I’m more into the retro futurism look. Just give me something that looks like a Volkswagen but can fly, ok?
And another thing…where are the skyships, since zeppelins were at one time predicted to be the future of aviation? I always wanted to be a sky captain, navigating one of those big, majestic craft between the cities, and maybe occasionally repelling sky pirates for a little romance and excitement. – – Why did the Hindenburg have to blow up?!
And where are the robots? They were supposed to be everywhere, some assumingall labor so you’d never have to lift a finger. You’d have to watch out for the bad robots, however, who could be quite menacing, both to you individually and to the human race…
Bad robots were usually made by mad scientists, who are also in short supply these days. I think that being a mad scientist was my role model at one time. I liked the look and the vibe, plus you didn’t have to worry about fashion or hair care…
But alas, the future as Iwanted it never came to pass. Instead we got smart phones and Facebook. Guess I’lljust have to concentrate on doing the personal evolution thing…
I’m not sure that one would want to date or marry an insurance company spokesman or rep as depicted on TV, where they never seem to be able to talk about anything but insurance, which can get old really fast! So it is at an outdoor cookout for Liberty Mutual’s “Doug” (David Hoffman), the Emu, and their presumed wives. The partners are dressed alike in matching loud yellow floral Hawaiian print shirts, and even their wives are in matching tones. It’s a surreal occasion, their outfits matching the yellow finish of the Liberty Mutual-mobile visible in the background.They’re nothing but thematic here…
When Doug blathers only about insurance, his wife politely asks him to change the topic, it being the weekend and all.- -Give it a rest, dude! In the awkward silence that follows, Doug asks the Emu’s wife if she would prefer to eat either a hot dog or chicken right off the grill, the latter offering seeming to be at least quasi-cannibalistic for the bird. The Emu vocalizes a brief response which Doug interprets to indicate a choice for a hot dog. It is not clear whether this is possibly because chickens may resemble baby emus in their sight…
For inquiring minds, the Emu memorably depicted in these commercials is a mix of real bird and CGI effects. At any rate, he certainly can rock a pair of aviator shades! Perhaps a future commercial could touch on a sensitive issue, such as The Great Australian Emu War of 1932, where 20,000 emus prevailed against World War I veterans armed with machine guns. They are a resourceful and resilient species… 🦊
In his previous outing, we saw Progressive’s “Motaur” suffer a blowout, and I’m sure that we all wonder how such a biomechanical being responds to such an incident; why, he goes to a tire shop, of course! Where the rubber meets the road also incorporates elements of the old full-service shoe store, with Motaur trying on a new set of tires, and the older store employee, completely nonplussed by his appearance, offering helpful comments from his perspective to close the sale. Those full-service shoe stores are hard to find these days; if you were a kid, they would actually measure your feet! Earlier still, some shoe stores would have an X-ray machine on site so you could see how the shoes fit on your underlying anatomy. It was kind of, “Hey kid, want a dose of radiation with those penny loafers?” But I digress…
When Motaur voices concerns that his new kicks might be too tight, the employee opines that he just might want to break them in a bit, because he sure doesn’t want tires to be too loose! A disturbing thought here; can Motaur actually feel his inorganic parts, and if so, how? Anyways, the employee is a helpful and good salesman, and we wind up with Motaur back on the road again, another satisfied customer. Sure is good that he had Progressive’s 24/7 roadside assistance plan! Long may he ride to his Culture Club tunes! Are we in for a Boy George revival?
In future installments, perhaps we’ll learn if Motaur sees a doctor or a mechanic if he gets sick. Does he change his own oil? Inquiring minds want to know…
Biomechanical organisms can be both freaky and funny at the same time, and Terrence Terrell as Progressive’s Insurance “Motaur” is at it again, this time showing off his light side as he motors down a deserted country road, singing and bopping to Culture Club’s 1980’s hit, Karma Chameleon. It was a catchy tune, and our Motaur seems to be enjoying himself thoroughly, even getting an arm dance thing going on. One doubts that a Skynet creation would do this…
…but as fate would have it, Motaur’s free-spirited fun is over when his rear tire unexpectedly goes flat. Fortunately, our boy has Progressive’s 24/7 roadside assistance plan, and will soon be on the road again. This commercial is actually part one of a two part series, the second part called New Shoes, and set in a tire shop.
I just never expected the Motaur to be a Boy George fan, did you? And despite my fascination with cyborgs, I’m keeping all of my organic parts, thank you…
It’s a charming commercial, with a bit of old world flavor. The Three Little Pigs of fairy tale fame are busy in their kitchen, making breakfast…and Lordy, they’re making French toast with Nature’s Own bread! I love French toast, and this looks more than good enough to eat, so gimme, gimme, gimme! Pleasant low-key European-style dining music is playing in the background. I’d be on board for this…
But wait…the Big Bad Wolf is also in the background, with a mighty exhalation of his classic breath! Is he about to “blow the piggies” house down, and feast on the diners therein?! Nah, not to worry…the wolf is blowing out celebratory candles on a giant stack of french toast thoughtfully prepared by the three piggies for some special occasion. They all applaud the wolf’s efforts, and then everyone is sitting down around the rustic table to eat hearty. All appears harmonious and well, but…
“Hey, got any bacon?, asks the wolf. This is followed by silence and blank stares by the pigs, and you can almost hear the crickets. “Just kidding!,” the wolf then reassures his company. He was only having fun with the piggies, you see, even if the joke was in questionable taste. All is well here with the predator/prey breakfast repast, despite wolves having a bad rep. Don’t kill the cook, I always say…
Nature’s Own: Goodness is in their nature. It’s “goodness that brings everyone together.” And even a wolf can be capable of peaceful coexistence, apparently. It’s the wolves who pretend not to be one that you have to watch out for…
Many are the travails of new homeowners visited in Geico commercials; clogging problems, RATT problems, fencing problems…and now we have people for whom their “pipes are making strange noises.” These “noises” we are shown are made by none less than an authentic bagpiper, complete in traditional Scottish attire, and playing his pipes loudly in such locations as under the kitchen sink, behind the water heater, in the bathtub, and…horrors…in the occupied bed of the couple!
Not even the plumber can help these poor people, who utters the single word “Nope!” upon encountering the piping piper, who plays the same refrain over and over. Now people tend to either love or hate the sound of bagpipes. Some find the sound stirring or haunting, although I imagine a repetitious refrain such as is played might get old pretty fast. No jigs are danced in response to the bag piping shown here, although this might have been a nice addition. And wouldn’t “The Masked Bagpiper” be a great new show on the Fox network? I can see the choreography now, lads and lasses…Everybody Highland Fling, now!
Unanswered are such questions as to why the bagpiper is haunting this house. Did the bagpiper lose his lassie? And should Lassie come home? And when the time comes to “pay the piper,” are his rates reasonable? Does the piper have a “greatest hits” album, every cut of which sounds the same? Inquiring minds want to know. Anyways, Geico makes bundling your insurance easy, even if home ownership is not. And please, no bag piping after ten, oh Danny boy…
(disclaimer: No Scots were harmed in the making of this commercial. Your ears are another matter…)
In this age of COVID, we are all spending more time alone, and what could be more terrifying than being left alone with our own thoughts?! Fortunately, the thoughts that run through our minds are more often mundane than weighty…
As a case in point, we have the Twizzlers commercial, “Only the Road Knows.” In it, a man is riding as passenger in a car driven by a woman along a lonely, isolated road through a deep forest. He is chewing on a Twizzlers, and appears to be deep in thought. For those of you living in a cave, Twizzlers are a rope-like candy traditionally red in color and strawberry in flavor, although color and flavor varieties are available. One wonders what thoughts are occupying the man’s mind…perhaps from the setting the dreaded “relationship issues” questions? Kill me now, please…
But no…we as observers are made privy to the man’s thoughts, which are revealed to be,”Am I too old to begin skateboarding?” If one has to ask that question, the answer is likely a resounding YES, unless you are equipped with forgiving and rubbery joints, or like to spend time in orthopedic convalescence. The question is one which the man needs to ponder, however, and Twizzlers is the candy that will assist him to “chew on it.” I do hope that the poor devil finds his way…
Research has shown, you see, that people are drawn to Twizzlers by the texture, and the gratification afforded by chewing. Perhaps Freud was right about oral needs. I’ve known people who claim that chewing gum relaxes them, and even helps them think. At any rate, in the age of COVID, I would offer Twizzlers this supplemental slogan;
“When life gets screwy, go chewy.” Just take your mask off first, of course…
The other day I went to a drive-up window to buy a lousy $4 ice cream, since in the year of the plague, walk-in much less full restaurant service are but memories. Reaching the front of the line, I discovered to my chagrin that the establishment wasn’t accepting cash, but only credit or debit cards. Cash, it would seem, is now considered a “contact point” for the Coronavirus, which can live merrily on a variety of surfaces for hours.
As I fumbled awkwardly for my debit card out of my wallet, the thought surfaced in my mind that these must be terrible times to be Scrooge McDuck. I mean, that bird would literally go swimming through his cash vaults! He had, by a Forbes estimate, a net cash worth of over 44 billion dollars. Swimming and burrowing through his money brought this duck pleasure! He was, by the standards of many, one lucky duck…
Now in these plague years, could Scrooge be considered to have a fatal attraction to money, considering his physicality with it? With money being considered filthy lucre, does Scrooge McDuck have a death wish, or is he just severely conflicted now about his practices? Is an intervention needed to save this duck from himself?! These thoughts eat away at me, terribly. We may never know the answer to these timely questions, but press on nonetheless. It is our calling, our mission here… 🐺
In a series of Halloween-themed commercials, Geico insurance introduces us to Griselda the witch, a witchy but wonderfully hip witch who builds on traditional stereotypes to in one commercial host a karaoke cooking show, complete with bubbling cauldron in which angel sneezes and a thumb drive are added to the brew!
But I digress…in one wonderful, furry-themed commercial, two female college students have taken in Griselda as a compromise roommate, one seeking someone who can help with the cooking, and the other wanting someone who likes cats. Griselda fits the bill nicely, spoon-feeding one of the students soup that transforms her into an anthropomorphic cat complete with cat ears, facial features, and furry forearms… I’d drink of that brew anytime! While her cooking may be questionable, Geico can really help these students with renters insurance, we’re told.
Anyways, Griselda is a real hoot as is her furry creation, and deserves to be a breakout character. We Halloween lovers thank you, Geico…watch for yourself, and meow!
(tip o’ the pen to Carycomic for the idea for this post!)
FOXSYLVANIA 
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