If I hear that pig one more time...

Ever since I was little, I have considered myself something of a commercial critic.  I would commentate with my dad about the quality of the commercial and if the marketers were accomplishing what they had intended.  At a young age, mostly we were discussing the level of annoyance.  Now that I am older, have some knowledge about "branding," and am married to a man with a marketing mind, my commercial critiquing has reached a whole new level.

Chic-fil-A are marketing geniuses.  The slogan and the mischievous cows are clever, but the manner in which the company uses them is utter brilliance.  I cannot recall a single advertisement for Chic-fil-A that does not incorporate the cows.  They have cow plush, cow calendars, cow table decorations and cow ads throughout the restaurant.  When Chic-fil-A introduced the new spicy breakfast sandwich, they didn't draw up a whole new marketing plan; they gave the cow a coat.    They have truly branded themselves and their marketing techniques.

Geico on the other hand... how many mascots and marketing schemes can they create?!?  First it was the gecko- a good idea I thought.  Then they introduce the caveman with new slogan.  I was not a fan particularly because they already had a marketing plan, but I also found these commercials annoying.  I gave them the benefit of the doubt, thinking maybe they were introducing a new advertising strategy and phasing out the gecko.  Nope.  Next thing I know, they release another commercial series with the man in a suit and cut-aways.  Seriously?  To give Geico credit, the Abe Lincoln ad was entertaining and the piggy going wee wee wee all the way home was funny.  But it diverted from their original branding strategy.  Now I find that all the gecko commercials with the ignorant old man indicate the company's own ignorance, I rarely see a caveman commercial, and if I hear that pig one more time I'm going to choke somebody.

Has my dining at Chic-fil-A increased because of their marketing?  Probably not, but it does cause me to give their billboards a second look.  Will I ever switch to Geico?  Not on your life.