Regional Geico ad illustrates how we talk funny.
A locally focused radio ad for Geico started running on The Ticket about two months or so ago. The first time I heard it, a small mistake caught my attention. See if you notice:
Did you catch it? The brave commuter in the ad says: “You don’t know what I’ve been through, the things I’ve seen. I’ve traversed Frisco to downtown on the DNT smack dab in the middle of rush hour. I’ve pushed through the post game rush, dared to go from Las Colinas to Uptown on the 114 to 35E. And don’t even get me started on Arlington.”
I appreciate the effort it must take to make these regional ads, but no one here refers to “the DNT.” If we’re driving from Frisco to downtown, we’re taking “the Tollway.” And no one is driving on “the 114.” We use the definite article for the Tollway and the Bush but not for highways with numbers. Highways with articles is a California thing (e.g., the 405). This small gaffe surprises all the more, given that Geico has such a large corporate presence here.
Speaking of Geico corporate. I spent way too long trying to find this ad online. In the process, I learned that there are corners of the internet where fans of Geico commercials, mainly the clever TV stuff, post and discuss them. But when I couldn’t find the commuter radio ad, yesterday I emailed the general address for Geico Corporate Communications, asking if the ad was online someplace or if they could send it to me. I figured there was a 2 percent chance I’d get a response.
Today they sent me the ad. When I told them about the gaffe and what I planned to do with the audio, a comms guy wrote back: “Thanks for reaching out – I did notice it, too. And I used to commute on 183 for years from Uptown to American Airlines HQ. Will flag this for our Marketing team. Enjoy the holiday weekend.”
Tip of the hat to the Gecko.