English 1020
9 February 13

Gallagher at a Farmers’ Market
Insurance companies are known for being boring and tedious, which is something that no one looks forward to dealing with when it comes to purchasing car insurance. One company started to use a different approach to attract new clients in their recent advertising campaign. GEICO started advertising through the use of silly ads. One such ad uses Gallagher the comedian and his trusted comic prop, Sledge-O-Matic. In this specific commercial, Gallagher enthusiastically smashes watermelons repeatedly with his handy dandy Sledge-O-Matic prop. They use Gallagher as a comparison to how happy GEICO customers are with GEICO insurance. When you think about it, who is better than one of America’s silliest comedians to star in a GEICO ad, especially when he is let loose in a farmers’ market with his trusted prop?
GEICO has used different styles of advertisements ranging from the talking gecko to the cavemen ads. But for every ad their slogan has been the same- "Fifteen minutes could save you fifteen percent or more on car insurance.” This mantra has been included in their commercials and written on billboards as far back as the company dates. Why do most people switch to GEICO? It is not merely based on the creepy, British speaking gecko or the notorious caveman or even in the commercial discussed above, Gallagher smashing watermelons. GEICO persuades the viewers to switch to their insurance by using the rhetorical appeal, logos. In today’s economy, saving money is something people make a conscious effort towards and try hard to do. So why not save with car insurance? When it comes to saving money viewers latch onto the aspect and want to switch to the cheapest insurance company. Through the means of classical conditioning the slogan, “Fifteen minutes could save you fifteen percent or more on car insurance”, included in all of their commercials stays at the forefront of the audience’s mind. By conveying this memorable slogan, GEICO persuades viewers that they have the lowest car insurance and that it’s a logical, no-brainer decision to switch to the best deal in town.
The rhetorical strategies used in this ad are to coax spectators in to thinking that switching to GEICO can save them money and make them happy. Also, it tells the audience how easy it is to save money by spending only fifteen minutes to save fifteen percent or more on their insurance. The rhetorical appeal pathos is used to put the audience in an emotional state of happiness. Seeing Gallagher having a ball smashing fruit on to people with a huge grin on his face is hilarious and it shows the audience that they too can be happy if they switch to GEICO.
GEICO aims to attract the audience by using the rhetorical appeal ethos to decorate its commercials with humor and straightforwardness. The car insurance company's approach of connecting the absurd evidence to the simple company motto assists in gaining the trust and approval of its viewers. In the commercial, the humor is thinking one can be happier than a Gallagher smashing