Geico Cavemen Get Their Own ABC Show

The caveman is back, not for scientific research or as a P.T. Barnum circus hand, but as a Hollywood star. And Geico has done it again. Not since the Budweiser Frogs or the Aflac Duck has there been such a beloved television commercial as either the Geico Gecko or the most recent marketing ploy, the Geico Caveman.

The trend toward personification in TV commercials has been winning over many viewers, making it fun to watch the tube between shows. Animals, and now an extinct hominid, with modern human personalities and traits are much more fun to watch than the usual ad campaign. The cavemen in particular, because of their closer relation to people than frogs, ducks, or lizards, are getting a leg up in show business.

The depiction of a caveman-thought once to be extinct-being exploited by Geico Auto Insurance ads has become a hit. The classy, posh caveman is not what people would think a caveman to be, and as we see him at the airport, his house party, and his councilor's office, we see he's very much like ourselves.

And because of the Geico commercials, the Geico cavemen have gotten a starring role in popular culture. The cavemen now have their own website-Caveman's Crib-and their own television show premiering on ABC in October. Created by Joe Lawson and staring Bill English, the television series, aptly titled Cavemen, looks to be a hit much like the TV commercials.

Why do so many people enjoy these sarcastic, emotionally flawed beasts from humanity's past? There exaggerated appearances and yuppie sensibilities seem to strike our funny bone, while their abrupt logic makes us nod and agree. They are humans dressed like cavemen, literally, but even more importantly...figuratively. They are us. By Geico exaggerating the similarities and differences between people and cavemen, they've created a metaphor for contemporary man.

They've created a pop icon, and they made it seem so easy, a caveman could do it.

But can the cavemen win in Hollywood? Most television sitcoms go bust before they get the chance to become a hit, and Cavemen may be no exception to the rule. What the show will have to do is continue reinventing the cavemen, and that's not always easily done by anyone, whether caveman or television genius.

If it's going to be a show where the cavemen do the same thing over and over again, only differently, you can say goodbye after the first season. If, on the other hand, they are able to step outside the box-as Geico has proven it can do-the show may become bigger than the company that first spotted these unique stars, or the original commercials themselves.

Someday we may see cavemen and think Cavemen, and not Geico. Hopefully the show won't go extinct before then.