A mascot can certainly be a powerful part of a brand, but how often are they powerful enough to actually spin off on their own? I guess you could say this was "thousands of years in the making", but a couple of cavemen have just managed to make the leap from commercial mascots to tv stars (rather than the more usual other way around). The Geico cavemen, famous for standing up against the discrimination of Geico's "so easy a caveman could do it" slogan, will have their own sitcom on ABC this fall.
Originally rumored to be in pilot mode back in March, the series is now officially a go, with ABC announcing it as part of the Fall 2007 lineup a few days ago. The series will revolve around three cavemen living in the modern day and presumably struggling with modern prejudice about their lower position on the evolutionary scale.
From a branding perspective, it's certainly an accomplishment when you create a mascot with such charisma and appeal that it can cross over and "become" the product instead of simply selling the product. For Geico, it's a grand-slam homerun. They get to benefit from the exposure when the show airs, and from all of the publicity that it is even being made in the first place. Here's an interesting tidbit, by the way: although this is very, very rare, this is NOT the first time it has happened. Back in the late '80s, the California Raisins (the claymation-animated ones) had their own TV show.
I'm sure Vegas will be running a line on whether the series will make it through a full season, but even if it doesn't, it's a great case study on branding!
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