Comments, interpretations and musings

We begin by questioning what is meant in the latest Geico caveman commercial, in which his uncomprehending therapist apparently doesn't get it that the ad slogan -- So easy even a caveman could do it -- is an insult to him. His cell rings. It's his mother. "I'll put her on speaker phone," he says with resignation.

(It's a given that the people who created the commercials at The Martin Agency had something particular in mind, but once a thing is out in the world it takes on a life of its own, as long as we're still thinking. Thanks Martin Agency, but we're not your -- or Geico's --lackeys.)

--Brian (my boyfriend, an ecology professor at Hampshire College -- will provide bios) says therapists are reputed to always ask about their clients' relationship with their mothers, so the caveman is just cutting to the chase. It's a joke about stereotypes of therapists. Asking people for their responses to the commercial is kind of like a Rorschach test, Brian allowed. He sounded a little resigned as this is the kind of thing English majors like myself but not entomologists like him do

--Scott Merzbach (my fellow reporter at the Amherst Bulletin) says it's funny because we don't think of cavemen as having mothers. Who ever heard of a cavewoman, he asks.

--The resignation is part of the caveman's schtick, I think. He's doing an impression of resignation for the amusement of his constituency/audience. (I like to talk about schtick and kitsch. I don't know why.)

-My sister Maureen thinks the music in the caveman in the airport commercial is what makes that one work.

Fellow television watchers, what do YOU think?

Links to articles and snippets from the articles in italics below.
The best discussion is at the blog American Copywriter which also includes YouTube links to the commercials themselves. I learned on the blog that the actor is one John Lehr, whose wife posted a message saying she is so proud of him. See an excerpt from his bio and link to his own Website below. One poster to the blog find the commerical offensive. Another wonders why there isn't a ton of caveman merchandise -- or any (as of a few months ago, at least) -- for sale!
http://americancopywriter.typepad.com/blog/2006/11/geico_caveman_t.html
http://www.johnlehr.com/
As an actor, John played Christina Applegate's brother on NBC's "Jesse" and hosted ABC's reality show "I'm a Celebrity…Get Me Out of Here." Other TV credits include "Oliver Beene" (FOX) "Once & Again" (ABC), "Friends" (NBC) and others. John's film credits include "The Sweetest Thing", "Kicking and Screaming", "Mr. Jealousy", "Highball" and others.
http://www.adweek.com/aw/creative/article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1003121415
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/GEICO
Government Employees Insurance Company, usually known by the acronym GEICO, is an American auto insurance company. GEICO is a wholly owned subsidiary of Berkshire Hathaway and, as of 2006, provided coverage for more than 10 million motor cars, trucks and other motor vehicles owned by more than 7 million policy holders. GEICO writes private passenger automobile insurance in the District of Columbia and in all U.S. states except Massachusetts
The therapist is Talia Shire, the same person who acted as Adrian in the Rocky series. The commercial was apparently timed to be released before the final film of the series, Rocky Balboa.