(Sorry about the picture being sideways. It's simply trying to mimic my life and I can't change it. Oops!)
I found this ad while skimming through a Bon Appetit issue. The first thing that grabbed my attention was the bright orange background color. The white bubble also stands out quite a bit against its contrasting background. In the actual magazine, the background is more orange than red, and since it was next to a picture of a bunch of green asparagus, the ad was very striking. And in the corner is a bright green gecko, which is, of course, Geico's well-known mascot.
The majority of the ad is taken up by the white speech bubble-looking design that features a hilarious joke. This is an obvious use of the common advertising technique "wit and humor." The use of "your" also attempts to make a personal connection with the reader, possibly in hopes to convince the customer that the service is personal, just like the advertisement. It also features the technique of "simple solutions." The second line of text reads, "See how easy it is to save money." It's as easy as making a lame joke, I guess. Because the quote is black and white, it must be simple. Or that's what the advertisers want you to believe.
I believe the ad appeals to the need to satisfy curiosity. Because the question on a white background stands out so much and is not what you expect from an insurance ad, it certainly makes one stop and ask, "What?" And the punchline of the joke does the same thing, considering I have no idea what arrabbiata sauce is. The joke makes the reader pay more attention to the ad, even if the rest doesn't exactly answer the questions I have.
I think the ad is effective because it's simple. I feel as if there isn't much to analyze because there just isn't much in the ad. It's quick,simple, and it goes down easy. The gecko and the white logo makes it easy to identify what product is being sold, and it gives a phone number, so it's easy to contact the company. But despite these pros, there is one major con that bothers me. It gives no information on how Geico can save you money or what makes it easy to save money. But as far as advertisements go, it was cute and managed to stand out without being obnoxious, so I appreciate it.
Maybe this is what the advertiser wanted me to do, but I looked up what arrabbiata sauce is. It is a pasta sauce that is very hot, from the chili peppers in it. Arrabbiato means angry in Italian and the sauce is named this because of the spiciness of the chili peppers. It is made from tomatoes, garlic, and red chili peppers cooked in olive oil. Maybe your were eating some of this and since it was so hot, you spit it out on your low Geico quote. This ad inadvertently used the need to satisfy curiosity because once I saw it, I had to look up what arrabbiata sauce is. This ad got me to interact with the text in an indirect way. I am also happy that there is a Geico ad that doesn't say "15 minutes could save you 15 percent or more on car insurance." Which has been grilled into my brain since the day I was born.
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