# Hey, Geico! You’re not Phillyin’ right, dumbass! **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [August 18, 2026, 8:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hey-geico-you-re-not-phillyin-right-dumbass/1032406 "2026-08-18T20:43:54Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Stratocaster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/stratocaster/32/16393_2.png) [@Stratocaster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stratocaster)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2026, 8:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hey-geico-you-re-not-phillyin-right-dumbass/1032406/1 "2026-08-18T20:43:54Z")
This is not the first example of this I’ve seen, but it’s particularly annoying. I’m talking about when a national brand (or at least an out-of-region company) tries to show they’re “one of us.” Invariably they fuck it up. Call it a pander fail. I grew up in Philadelphia and currently live in one of its suburbs. Geico is currently running a radio commercial that’s a particularly shitty version. It starts with that stupid gecko saying how we in Philly love Geico because we always know a better way of doing things (or something like that). It cuts to some nitwit saying (paraphrase), “You want to get from Manayunk to Center City? No need to take the Schuylkill Expressway. Take Ridge Avenue to Kelly Drive, but if you see brake lights, don’t be a hero. Just take the Parkway. Problem solved!” Just one problem. The Parkway isn’t an alternative to Kelly Drive. Kelly Drive is how you _get to_ the Parkway (dumps you off right in front of the Art Museum and the Rocky steps). If Kelly Drive is backed up, the only way you can immediately get to the Parkway is if you have a teleporter. Jesus Christ, Geico, don’t you know anyone in Philly you could have run this by? Dopes. “We get you, Philly!” Yeah, fuck you. Any examples from your neck of the woods? Some carpetbagger pretending to be a local? ---
**Author:** ![Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/elmer_j.fudd/32/1211_2.png) [@Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elmer_J.Fudd)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2026, 9:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hey-geico-you-re-not-phillyin-right-dumbass/1032406/2 "2026-08-18T21:54:25Z")
At least the writers of that ad probably have the excuse of ignorance. Hollywood inevitably gets Los Angeles geography totally wrong about half the time a film or TV show takes place there…_right in their own fucking backyard._ ---
**Author:** ![Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba9def/32.png) [@Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Just_Asking_Questions)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2026, 10:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hey-geico-you-re-not-phillyin-right-dumbass/1032406/3 "2026-08-18T22:09:38Z")
> [@Elmer\_J.Fudd](#): > > right in their own fucking backyard. One of my most peevish of pet peeves. It’s bad enough they won’t look at a map\*, but for LA, they live there! As does the director, the actors, the cameraman, the editor…someone could say something. \*If you’re leaving your girl in LA, and going back to Oklahoma via Albuquerque, by the time you get to Phoenix, you’ve gone hundreds of miles out of your way, Jimmy! ---
**Author:** ![Jackmannii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackmannii/32/311_2.png) [@Jackmannii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackmannii)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2026, 10:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hey-geico-you-re-not-phillyin-right-dumbass/1032406/4 "2026-08-18T22:12:39Z")
I just saw an example of the reverse: a local joint pretending to be from another region. On a billboard near a major intersection in Lexington, KY., a downtown restaurant is promoting its new feature, a LOBSTAH roll. Most locals, unfamiliar with stereotypical New England pronunciation, are probably going “huh?”. ---
**Author:** ![Gatopescado](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gatopescado/32/5711_2.png) [@Gatopescado](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gatopescado)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2026, 10:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hey-geico-you-re-not-phillyin-right-dumbass/1032406/5 "2026-08-18T22:33:23Z")
> [@Stratocaster](#): > > Jesus Christ, Geico, don’t you know anyone in Philly you could have run this by? Dopes. “We get you, Philly!” Yeah, fuck you. Flo better watch out or she’s gonna get pelted with 9v batteries. ---
**Author:** ![Stratocaster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/stratocaster/32/16393_2.png) [@Stratocaster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stratocaster)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2026, 10:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hey-geico-you-re-not-phillyin-right-dumbass/1032406/6 "2026-08-18T22:37:56Z")
Would serve her right. ---
**Author:** ![don\_t\_ask](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e68b1a/32.png) [@don\_t\_ask](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/don_t_ask)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2026, 3:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hey-geico-you-re-not-phillyin-right-dumbass/1032406/7 "2026-08-19T03:26:41Z")
> [@Just\_Asking\_Questions](#): > > \*If you’re leaving your girl in LA, and going back to Oklahoma via Albuquerque, by the time you get to Phoenix, you’ve gone hundreds of miles out of your way, Jimmy! The guy in that song always sounded to me like he came from San Diego. ---
**Author:** ![penultima\_thule](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/penultima_thule/32/3833_2.png) [@penultima\_thule](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/penultima_thule)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2026, 3:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hey-geico-you-re-not-phillyin-right-dumbass/1032406/8 "2026-08-19T03:26:48Z")
> [@Stratocaster](#): > > Just take the Parkway. Problem solved! In the US, they run advertising campaigns for toll roads!!?? 🤑 ---
**Author:** ![Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba9def/32.png) [@Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Just_Asking_Questions)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2026, 4:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hey-geico-you-re-not-phillyin-right-dumbass/1032406/9 "2026-08-19T04:12:06Z")
> [@don\_t\_ask](#): > > The guy in that song always sounded to me like he came from San Diego. Well, that would make more sense. ---
**Author:** ![Gyrate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gyrate/32/3588_2.png) [@Gyrate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gyrate)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2026, 9:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hey-geico-you-re-not-phillyin-right-dumbass/1032406/10 "2026-08-19T09:02:37Z")
> [@Gatopescado](#): > > Flo better watch out or she’s gonna get pelted with 9v batteries. Both she and her assailants would get charged with battery. \< rimshot \> ---
**Author:** ![Folacin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/folacin/32/3195_2.png) [@Folacin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Folacin)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2026, 2:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hey-geico-you-re-not-phillyin-right-dumbass/1032406/11 "2026-08-19T14:22:10Z")
> [@Gatopescado](#): > > Flo better watch out or she’s gonna get pelted with 9v batteries. At the risk of being whooshed, Flo is Progressive, Geico is the gecko. ---
**Author:** ![Pleonast](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pleonast/32/1183_2.png) [@Pleonast](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pleonast)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2026, 2:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hey-geico-you-re-not-phillyin-right-dumbass/1032406/12 "2026-08-19T14:28:04Z")
> [@Stratocaster](#): > > It starts with that stupid gecko saying how we in Philly love Geico because we always know a better way of doing things (or something like that). It cuts to some nitwit saying (paraphrase), “You want to get from Manayunk to Center City? No need to take the Schuylkill Expressway. Take Ridge Avenue to Kelly Drive, but if you see brake lights, don’t be a hero. Just take the Parkway. Problem solved!” Is there any chance they’re trying (and failing) to be humorous by giving awkward advice? There seems to be a trend towards “cringe” humor these days. ---
**Author:** ![de\_Worde](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/838e76/32.png) [@de\_Worde](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/de_Worde)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2026, 6:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hey-geico-you-re-not-phillyin-right-dumbass/1032406/13 "2026-08-19T18:12:18Z")
The Geico ad in the Chicago area makes fun of a guy who puts ketchup on his “Chicago Dog.” Yeah, it’s a running thing that you don’t put ketchup on a hotdog. But I lived in Chicago for 14 years and my wife was born and raised there. We’ve never heard a Chicagoan refer to a hotdog as a “Chicago Dog.” ---
**Author:** ![DesertDog](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/desertdog/32/11503_2.png) [@DesertDog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DesertDog)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2026, 6:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hey-geico-you-re-not-phillyin-right-dumbass/1032406/14 "2026-08-19T18:26:30Z")
I lead off with a similar Geico ad 21 years (Good God!) ago. > [@You're not from around here, are you?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/youre-not-from-around-here-are-you/311817): > > Today I was tooling around with the radio on, and up came an advert for GEICO, It started out with something like, “Here in Arizona, the state bird is the cactus wren, the state flower is the saguaro blossom, and the state reptile is the ridgenose rattlesnake” then went on with somethng silly thing about how the last should be the GEICO gecko because of all the money he saves careful drivers. Only thing was, the guy pronounced the middle item “sag-you-are-oh.” Um, thank you for playing. It’s… ---
**Author:** ![Cheesesteak](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cheesesteak/32/3694_2.png) [@Cheesesteak](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cheesesteak)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2026, 6:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hey-geico-you-re-not-phillyin-right-dumbass/1032406/15 "2026-08-19T18:34:24Z")
> [@Stratocaster](#): > > carpetbagger pretending to be a local I had a lawyer, during voir dire, tell us (prospective jurors) that the case was like an episode of Columbo, where you don’t know what happens right away, you have to wait to get all the information before coming to a conclusion. I should’ve just told the judge not to let me on the jury because I decided this lawyer is an idiot. ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2026, 6:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hey-geico-you-re-not-phillyin-right-dumbass/1032406/16 "2026-08-19T18:41:46Z")
> [@Cheesesteak](#): > > I should’ve just told the judge not to let me on the jury because I decided this lawyer is an idiot. Indeed – of all the TV detective shows the idiot could have cited, he chose the one that shows you, the viewer, who the killer is up front. ---
**Author:** ![Stratocaster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/stratocaster/32/16393_2.png) [@Stratocaster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stratocaster)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2026, 6:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hey-geico-you-re-not-phillyin-right-dumbass/1032406/17 "2026-08-19T18:57:14Z")
It sure didn’t play that way. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2026, 7:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hey-geico-you-re-not-phillyin-right-dumbass/1032406/18 "2026-08-19T19:17:49Z")
> [@de\_Worde](#): > > We’ve never heard a Chicagoan refer to a hotdog as a “Chicago Dog.” Well, yeah, but outside Chicago it is- and in NYC, is their pizza called “New York Style”? ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2026, 7:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hey-geico-you-re-not-phillyin-right-dumbass/1032406/19 "2026-08-19T19:24:54Z")
I don’t have an example for the OP, but my pet peeve is newscasters who can’t be bothered to learn how something not from their area is pronounced. The other day it was some twit trying to pronounce Inupiaq and coming up with something like "InnuPEEkak. Granted, it’s not a common word, but a simple Google search would have cleared it up. > [@DrDeth](#): > > Well, yeah, but outside Chicago it is- and in NYC, is their pizza called “New York Style”? Same for Buffalo wings in Buffalo. ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2026, 7:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hey-geico-you-re-not-phillyin-right-dumbass/1032406/20 "2026-08-19T19:44:06Z")
> [@Chefguy](#): > > I don’t have an example for the OP, but my pet peeve is newscasters who can’t be bothered to learn how something not from their area is pronounced. I have the same issue with my hometown, Green Bay, which is mostly mentioned on TV in the context of the Packers; it frequently gets pronounced as one word, with an emphasis on the first syllable (i.e., “GREENbay”). It’s two words, both syllables equally stressed. What was particularly noticeable was when former Packer player Paul Hornung worked as an announcer on Packers TV broacasts; he pronounced it GREENbay, and he lived and played there for a decade! (And, don’t get me started on pronouncing the state name “WES-con-sin,” or even worse, “WEST-con-sin.”) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hey-geico-you-re-not-phillyin-right-dumbass/1032406.md?page=2)