Viral Camels

In a few months, the American automotive insurance company, Geico, has over 15 million hits on YouTube from a viral video where a camel walks around the office asking his fellow employees if they know what day it is. This question references the expression that Wednesday is “hump day” because it is the middle of the workweek. It may not sound like a viral success, but the numbers and re-posts do not lie.

Honestly, car insurance is a boring topic. Not everyone has a car, and if they do, they may or may not be the person paying the bill. The brilliance of this video is that Geico realizes the dry topic and uses humor to gain followers. The company is known for their talking gecko, but he was not gaining the kind of attention they wanted. One of the components a viral video is relatable humor. The commercial is funny and audiences are able to relate to the excitement associated with the nearing end of the workweek.

     Intelligently crafted, we find at the end of the video this is a Geico commercial. The actors say, “How happy are folks who save hundreds on their car insurance? I’d say happier than a camel on Wednesday.” The key message of the brand—saving money on car insurance—is there, but humor adds value to the piece. Most people would tune out a commercial that just hits with a discussion about car insurance. Now, we are interested in this camel and we want to know why he’s so excited. If car insurance makes him this happy, maybe I’ll pay more attention to Geico as a brand.

This video has gone so viral that a middle school in Connecticut has banned students from using the catch phrase or quoting the language. Also, if anyone is so inclined, they may buy t-shirt from Amazon, picture to the left. This hump day camel is turning into quite the cash camel—get it? Like cash cow? Okay, I thought it was funny.

Overall, Geico broke through the clutter by offering a memorable and relatable quote while still incorporating humor. Had this video been a talking camel telling me about car insurance, I would not have watched it. By giving the camel personality, Geico has made a name in viral videos.

 

Photo credit: Amazon