# Geico cavemen might get their own tv show **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [March 4, 2007, 2:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/geico-cavemen-might-get-their-own-tv-show/394496 "2007-03-04T02:09:23Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Cisco](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ccd318/32.png) [@Cisco](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cisco)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2007, 2:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/geico-cavemen-might-get-their-own-tv-show/394496/1 "2007-03-04T02:09:23Z")
[Link](http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/03/02/AR2007030201322.html?nav=rss_artsandliving/entertainmentnews) I’m not sure how to feel about this. On the one hand, I happen to think they are hilarious. “It’s my mother - I’ll put her on speaker” is probably the best line in a commercial of all time. On the other hand, it just seems a little too . . . you know . . . commercial. I have a feeling that no matter how funny the show is, people would be hostile towards it and not watch. I’m reminded of The Noid. Didn’t he get his own tv show? ---
**Author:** ![Justin\_Bailey](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/justin_bailey/32/8792_2.png) [@Justin\_Bailey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Justin_Bailey)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2007, 2:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/geico-cavemen-might-get-their-own-tv-show/394496/2 "2007-03-04T02:11:17Z")
They already have a TV show. Err, one of them is already on a TV show. Radioactive Man from Heroes is obviously their long lost brother. But a better question… does this mean my car insurance will be lower? ---
**Author:** ![mobo85](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b19c9b/32.png) [@mobo85](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mobo85)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2007, 2:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/geico-cavemen-might-get-their-own-tv-show/394496/3 "2007-03-04T02:15:06Z")
If this were to be picked up, it would be the second television show in U.S. history to be based on a commercial: the CBS sitcom _Baby Bob_ was loosely inspired by a character from commercials for the now-defunct [FreeInternet.com](http://FreeInternet.com). (Bob later appeared in spots for Quiznos Sub.) The Noid never received his own TV show- if he had, it probably would have been dismissed as too commerical by parents’ action groups. ---
**Author:** ![garygnu](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/garygnu/32/2924_2.png) [@garygnu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/garygnu)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2007, 2:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/geico-cavemen-might-get-their-own-tv-show/394496/4 "2007-03-04T02:16:54Z")
[QUOTE=Cisco] …I’m reminded of The Noid. Didn’t he get his own tv show? [/QUOTE] not a TV show, but an [early video game](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Avoid_the_Noid) and later a[NES game](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yo!_Noid). [Caveman’s Crib Link](http://www.cavemanscrib.com/) ---
**Author:** ![commasense](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/commasense/32/3017_2.png) [@commasense](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/commasense)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2007, 2:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/geico-cavemen-might-get-their-own-tv-show/394496/5 "2007-03-04T02:54:32Z")
I don’t believe it. Who would sponsor such a show? ---
**Author:** ![Justin\_Bailey](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/justin_bailey/32/8792_2.png) [@Justin\_Bailey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Justin_Bailey)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2007, 2:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/geico-cavemen-might-get-their-own-tv-show/394496/6 "2007-03-04T02:57:06Z")
[QUOTE=commasense] I don’t believe it. Who would sponsor such a show? [/QUOTE] Are you saying a caveman couldn’t inspire someone to buy something? That’s ridiculous. They invented _fire_. Don’t you think they could sell a few fireplaces? And baseball bats. There aren’t enough women being clubbed in the head in advertisements today. But that would be stereotyping. ---
**Author:** ![Fiver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/e274bd/32.png) [@Fiver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fiver)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2007, 3:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/geico-cavemen-might-get-their-own-tv-show/394496/7 "2007-03-04T03:02:30Z")
This is at least the third time a premise like this has been used. The first one I know of was the “Unfrozen Caveman Lawyer” sketches Phil Hartman starred in on _Saturday Night Live._ Second is the occasional feature, “Charley the Australopithecine” in Ruben Bolling’s _Tom The Dancing Bug_ comic strip. Charley is the funnier, more transgressive of the two, and I bet this sitcom won’t cross as many boundaries. ---
**Author:** ![Guinastasia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guinastasia/32/5751_2.png) [@Guinastasia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guinastasia)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2007, 3:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/geico-cavemen-might-get-their-own-tv-show/394496/8 "2007-03-04T03:03:53Z")
I am so fucking sick of the stupid cavemen commercials. They’ve WAY overmilked this damn thing. Why can’t they give the Gecko his own show? He’s so damned cute! ---
**Author:** ![Bosstone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/22d042/32.png) [@Bosstone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosstone)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2007, 3:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/geico-cavemen-might-get-their-own-tv-show/394496/9 "2007-03-04T03:08:53Z")
[QUOTE=commasense] I don’t believe it. Who would sponsor such a show? [/QUOTE] Progressive, Allstate, Farmers, AIG… ---
**Author:** ![Jaochai](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/2acd7d/32.png) [@Jaochai](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jaochai)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2007, 3:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/geico-cavemen-might-get-their-own-tv-show/394496/10 "2007-03-04T03:32:58Z")
Max Headroom got his own TV show, didn’t he? He didn’t start in commercials, but he did them before he got his own series. ---
**Author:** ![mobo85](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b19c9b/32.png) [@mobo85](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mobo85)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2007, 3:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/geico-cavemen-might-get-their-own-tv-show/394496/11 "2007-03-04T03:55:19Z")
Max Headroom started in the UK on his own show. He first appeared in the United States in ads for New Coke, then his own series. ---
**Author:** ![Malienation](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/4af34b/32.png) [@Malienation](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Malienation)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2007, 4:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/geico-cavemen-might-get-their-own-tv-show/394496/12 "2007-03-04T04:07:13Z")
I sorta like the Geico caveman ads. What amazes me is that Geico has 3 different ad campaigns running simultaneously: the Geico cavemen, the Geico gecko, and the “we hired an actor to juice up this real story.” ---
**Author:** ![BrassyPhrase](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ea666f/32.png) [@BrassyPhrase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrassyPhrase)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2007, 4:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/geico-cavemen-might-get-their-own-tv-show/394496/13 "2007-03-04T04:19:02Z")
[QUOTE=Cisco] [Link](http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/03/02/AR2007030201322.html?nav=rss_artsandliving/entertainmentnews) I’m not sure how to feel about this. On the one hand, I happen to think they are hilarious. “It’s my mother - I’ll put her on speaker” is probably the best line in a commercial of all time. On the other hand, it just seems a little too . . . you know . . . commercial. I have a feeling that no matter how funny the show is, people would be hostile towards it and not watch. I’m reminded of The Noid. Didn’t he get his own tv show? [/QUOTE] I sent this link to a friend of mine that also loves the Geico Caveman with the line–“Oscar afterparty–so easy even a caveman can do it.” > **[Typepad | Network Solutions](https://www.networksolutions.com/typepad?siteID=100&channelID=P99C100S653N0B5A1D0E0000V111)** The saddest thing about the Superbowl commercials was that there wasn’t a new Caveman commercial. I don’t care much for football–when asked who I was rooting for-my reply was "The commercials’. Not a great year in general, commercial wise. ---
**Author:** ![Menocchio](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/9de053/32.png) [@Menocchio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Menocchio)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2007, 4:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/geico-cavemen-might-get-their-own-tv-show/394496/14 "2007-03-04T04:29:14Z")
I love the campaign, but it’s pretty much a one-note joke thing, isn’t it? I mean, it’s a good joke, but how much more mileage can you get out of it? The only way to go would be either to have them revisit their “roots”, which would just be a live-action “Flintstones”, or make the whole thing a satire on racism, which could get ugly since it would be implying that non-whites are cavemen. ---
**Author:** ![Tapioca\_Dextrin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Tapioca\_Dextrin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tapioca_Dextrin)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2007, 4:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/geico-cavemen-might-get-their-own-tv-show/394496/15 "2007-03-04T04:37:44Z")
[QUOTE=Guinastasia] Why can’t they give the Gecko his own show? He’s so damned cute! [/QUOTE] Why not team him up with the (by now elderly) Taco Bell micro dog? :dubious: ---
**Author:** ![lissener](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lissener/32/6139_2.png) [@lissener](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lissener)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2007, 5:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/geico-cavemen-might-get-their-own-tv-show/394496/16 "2007-03-04T05:33:12Z")
[QUOTE=Menocchio] I love the campaign, but it’s pretty much a one-note joke thing, isn’t it? I mean, it’s a good joke, but how much more mileage can you get out of it? [/QUOTE] There’s a thing you’ve obviously never heard of: the American sitcom. ---
**Author:** ![LifeOnWry](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/96bed5/32.png) [@LifeOnWry](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LifeOnWry)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2007, 6:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/geico-cavemen-might-get-their-own-tv-show/394496/17 "2007-03-04T06:46:10Z")
[QUOTE=Menocchio] I mean, it’s a good joke, but how much more mileage can you get out of it? [/QUOTE] I dunno, but every time I see a new one, I cackle. I’m anti-TV in general and the kind of person who yells at commercials for being stupid, but I will RUN into the living room if I hear one of these come on. The WryGuy is now trained to notify me: “Honey! Hurry! New caveman commercial!” For some reason, they just slay me. I wouldn’t watch 'em in a regular show, though. There are shows with great premises and terrific actors, and I don’t watch them either. ---
**Author:** ![Rico](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rico/32/3582_2.png) [@Rico](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rico)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2007, 6:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/geico-cavemen-might-get-their-own-tv-show/394496/18 "2007-03-04T06:58:02Z")
Hey! They could always re-do [“Its About Time”](http://www.tvparty.com/recits.html). Or maybe not… ---
**Author:** ![jamus\_se](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/87869e/32.png) [@jamus\_se](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jamus_se)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2007, 7:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/geico-cavemen-might-get-their-own-tv-show/394496/19 "2007-03-04T07:41:30Z")
[QUOTE=Malienation] I sorta like the Geico caveman ads. What amazes me is that Geico has 3 different ad campaigns running simultaneously: the Geico cavemen, the Geico gecko, and the “we hired an actor to juice up this real story.” [/QUOTE] “In a world where both of our cars were totally underwater…” ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2007, 7:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/geico-cavemen-might-get-their-own-tv-show/394496/20 "2007-03-04T07:42:45Z")
> [@](#): > > it would be the second television show in U.S. history to be based on a commercial There was also a series made from the Crash Test Dummies ad campaign. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/geico-cavemen-might-get-their-own-tv-show/394496.md?page=2)