# Liberty Mutual commercials, is LiMu the Emu a puppet, CGI, or a real bird? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Tags:** commercials-ads\ **Created:** [June 28, 2021, 2:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/liberty-mutual-commercials-is-limu-the-emu-a-puppet-cgi-or-a-real-bird/945144 "2021-06-28T02:02:51Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 8\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Siam\_Sam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d78d45/32.png) [@Siam\_Sam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siam_Sam)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2021, 2:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/liberty-mutual-commercials-is-limu-the-emu-a-puppet-cgi-or-a-real-bird/945144/21 "2021-06-29T02:44:24Z")
> [@aceplace57](#): > > LiMu has a female sidekick in this one. That’s not a sidekick, that’s his wife. She also appears in the one where they get the key to the city. ---
**Author:** ![NetTrekker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/nettrekker/32/2909_2.png) [@NetTrekker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NetTrekker)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2021, 2:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/liberty-mutual-commercials-is-limu-the-emu-a-puppet-cgi-or-a-real-bird/945144/22 "2021-06-29T14:44:22Z")
No idea but thanks for spelling out the name; I hadn’t made that connection before. Kind of a direct copy of the Geico/gekko theme, no? ---
**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:** [June 29, 2021, 2:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/liberty-mutual-commercials-is-limu-the-emu-a-puppet-cgi-or-a-real-bird/945144/23 "2021-06-29T14:47:43Z")
> [@NetTrekker](#): > > Kind of a direct copy of the Geico/gekko theme, no? Speaking as an advertising guy – definitely. Liberty Mutual changed their advertising approach a couple of years ago, and clearly started trying to be more like Geico and Progressive in their use of quirky humor. But, IMO, Liberty Mutual’s ads aren’t nearly as good at the humor as their competitors have been. (And, some of their ads are just plain weird, like this one about [wet teddy bears](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=44YYT0mmjSo).) ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2021, 3:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/liberty-mutual-commercials-is-limu-the-emu-a-puppet-cgi-or-a-real-bird/945144/24 "2021-06-29T15:08:11Z")
I suspect that it’s more that they’ve been just as weird as Geico’s advertisements, but that Geico just has such an overwhelmingly large volume of ads that there’s room to forget the poor ones. ---
**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:** [June 29, 2021, 3:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/liberty-mutual-commercials-is-limu-the-emu-a-puppet-cgi-or-a-real-bird/945144/25 "2021-06-29T15:10:55Z")
There’s probably some truth to that, @Chronos – Geico typically runs three or four ad campaigns at any one time, and regularly rotates new campaign ideas into the mix. If something gets good reactions, it sticks around, and if it doesn’t (i.e., it’s a little too weird, it’s not as funny or memorable as hoped), Geico and their ad agency quickly drop it. ---
**Author:** ![Sitnam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/6a8cbe/32.png) [@Sitnam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sitnam)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2021, 3:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/liberty-mutual-commercials-is-limu-the-emu-a-puppet-cgi-or-a-real-bird/945144/26 "2021-06-29T15:41:23Z")
Mix of CGI and real bird, I think. The Emu’s wife has to be CGI, for instance. ---
**Author:** ![Ulfreida](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ulfreida/32/8014_2.png) [@Ulfreida](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ulfreida)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2021, 3:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/liberty-mutual-commercials-is-limu-the-emu-a-puppet-cgi-or-a-real-bird/945144/27 "2021-06-29T15:54:04Z")
Emus are dimwitted birds, but almost anything can be trained to do simple things. I used to run sheep on a ranch that also kept emus (they are sort of guardian animals, like llamas). I found them deeply irritating. Tame ones can’t be kept out of your toolbox when you are repairing fence, being inveterately curious. They like the color red. ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2021, 5:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/liberty-mutual-commercials-is-limu-the-emu-a-puppet-cgi-or-a-real-bird/945144/28 "2021-06-29T17:48:16Z")
> [@Sitnam](#): > > The Emu’s wife has to be CGI, for instance. Maybe the agent’s wife, too. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/liberty-mutual-commercials-is-limu-the-emu-a-puppet-cgi-or-a-real-bird/945144.md?page=1)