Is there anything worse in the marketing world than the ongoing Geico gecko campaign?

Why are you still here?

Geico has been ripped for these ads because they are all about making “six-pack Joe” laugh and not at all about sharing real, concrete reasons why their insurance is better.

But that is not my problem with these ads. My second biggest problem (I’ll talk about my first biggest problem in a minute) with the gecko ads is this: They are not funny.

Humorous commercials used to bring attention to your product or service serve an important purpose.

Humor is an important marketing tool. Laughter, after all, is one of the main ways human beings connect with one another.

Think about your best friends. Chances are the memories that keep you closest to those people are either somber emotional ones or goofy, fun, riotous moments of uninhibited, uncensored laughter.

The same is true with brands and products. Great marketing campaigns make you feel emotions that bring you closer to the product, brand or service being touted.

Geico’s gecko campaign is a slowly dying horse that no one has balls enough to put down.

All of that said, my biggest problem with Geico’s gecko campaign is that they have never done a Gordon Gekko spoof with Michael Douglas. With all of the lazy, crappy ads with bad jokes (a few of them are below) I just cannot believe Geico never did a Gordon Gecko spot or two. Tsk, tsk.