About
In 2005, GEICO began an advertising campaign featuring Neanderthal cavemen in a modern setting. Developed by the Martin Agency, these commercials started with a GEICO spokesman explaining that using geico.com is "so easy a caveman could do it." This slogan offends present day cavemen who are, in fact, are quite urban. A follow-up commercial was aired later, in which the spokesman attempts to apologize to two displeased cavemen in a restaurant. In 2006, a new commercial featuring the cavemen premiered. With the Royksopp song "Remind Me" playing in the background, a caveman is on a moving sidewalk at an airport when he spots a billboard for Geico featuring a picture of a caveman along with the insulting phrase. One variation of the commercial shows the caveman talking to an unnamed person on a cellphone about the billboard, describing it to the person in a seemingly displeased manner. Another set of commercials features one of the cavemen seeing a therapist about the "offensive" Geico commercials.
In 2007, GEICO's internal Communications and Marketing departments created and launched an interactive flash website entitled Caveman's Crib. Picking up where the commercials left off, this comic website invites users to a penthouse party at one of the cavemen's apartment. The party is not yet underway, and the caveman is none too pleased with the early arrival. Users may interact with the GEICO cavemen, snoop around their apartment, read their magazines, pick out clothing for them to wear, and even peek in on one of them in the steamy shower. References to the cavemen's occasionally antagonistic relationship with GEICO are hidden throughout the "crib."
Additionally, users can visit a start-up website supposedly run by the caveman, UpwithCavemen.com where cavemen urge support in their crusade against prejudice. The website features "testimonials" from high-achieving cavemen. The upwithcavemen.com site is also owned by GEICO.
On March 2, 2007, Variety reported that a sitcom based on the cavemen characters, simply titled Cavemen, is being developed for ABC.
You can see the article here or pick up a variety subscription for your daily dose of Variety magazine.
Jeff Daniel Phillips and Ben Weber played the two earliest cavemen and continuously reprise their roles. Actor John Lehr appears most frequently as the caveman.
