Remember Gary Brolsma, the Numa Numa Guy? Of course you do. Hoping to tie his lovable lip-syncing magic to a big brand, The Martin Agency tapped him to produce “Numa Numa Guy with GEICO,” an amateur-style vid where he sings Somebody’s Watchin’ Me while GEICO’s trademark gecko dances behind him.
What makes the video awesome is you don’t really notice the gecko at first. But as you acclimate to the context, suddenly you’re like… “WTF is that thing in the terrarium, shimmying in the background?”
And then you LOL, just a little.
The parody will appear on YouTube, Metacafe, Break, Dailymotion and Slide. The Martin Agency worked directly with the video hosting firms to ensure GEICO’s parody — and future ones — appear next to the amateur-produced superstar originals.
As a point of principle, none of the ads feature a CTA. “The gecko and some of our other icons have a passionate fan base and we think people will appreciate the ‘surprise’ of seeing them pop up in unexpected places. No call to action, no website address or 1-800 number, just a bit of entertainment courtesy of GEICO,” proclaims VP Ted Ward of Marketing.
We can roll with that.
Expect to see other parodies as the year progresses. According to the Martin creative team, the original amateur video makers — like Numa Numa Guy — were all involved in making their own gecko-laced spoofs. (That probably contributes to the pitch-perfect feel of the final product. Still feels amateurish, and while you know it’s from a company, it’s feel-good and uncontrived.)
Cool shit. But then again, we love ourselves a GEICO ad. Remember these? Classic.
