The Geico Gecko
Has anyone else wondered about this guy’s accent? Me and a few folks were watching OU beat up on Nebraska last night, and we caught one of the latest Geico commercials on the tube. And then, somebody commented that his accent was a pretty Australian one….
And then it began!
…the debate, I mean. I had always thought he had a British accent myself. But a few of my friends were adamant that it had glimmerings of an Australian, or maybe even New Zealand one. In trying to recall his vocabulary, we remembered this script from one of his early commercials:
“Free GEICO quotes are like free…pie an’ chips. I mean, who doesn’t want free pie and chips? It’s pie…with chips…for free! But pie and chips…you can get ‘em anywhere. GEICO quotes: made from scratch, just for you. Only at geico.com.”
Well, this just solidified my stance on his “British-ness”; but it evidently wasn’t enough to sway my comrades. There was a slight question on the difference in ‘fish and chips’ and ‘pie and chips’, and if either were wholly British or even European at all. With our caution thrown to the wind, we turned to wikipedia.com. And lo and behold….we found the answer quite intriguing:
“In the first commercial, the gecko was given an upper-class British accent because it would be unexpected, according to The Martin Agency’s Steve Bassett. In current commercials the gecko’s accent is more working-class (although it sounds like a typical Australian accent), to further “humanize” him.”
So needless to say, the debate ended in a draw. (Although, just for the record, “sounds like” and “being” are two different things. If it ‘is’ a British accent, then it doesn’t really matter what it ’sounds like’…as far as bragging rights are concerned.) However; Wiki wasn’t the only place that had weighed in on the apparent world-wide debate. There were sites all over the place like: this one, this one, and this one that had thier own points of view on the matter.
So what does this have to do with anything? And how can you apply it to your life?
In Matthew 12:33,36, Jesus tells the Pharisees, “for out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaketh” and “every idle word that men shall speak, they shall give account thereof in the day of judgment.” Me and the gang were hard pressed to figure out exactly what kind of gecko was representing Geico in their tv spots. He would speak one way one time, and another way another. His vocabulary and slang would change, depending on if he was talking to fellow geckos in the jungle, or giving interviews to talk show hosts in some big city.
If that “great cloud of witnesses” that Hebrews speaks of, sat back and watched your life, could they tell WHO you were supposedly representing? Are your words seasoned with Christ’s love, or do you indulge in the slang of the world around you? Would your words give a pretty picture of your heart? Or would they show the sad state of your soul? Would your friends have to debate about if you speak more like a lost person than a redeemed one?
Take a few cues from Mr. Gecko. He’s got good news about car insurance. You’ve got good news about Jesus Christ, the Son of the Living God. In 15 minutes, you could save up to 15% on your car insurance. Or in 15 minutes, you can praise God for your salvation, pray for the lost around you, and pray for the missionaries that are taking that Good News all over the world.
“If any man speak, let him speak as the oracles of God; if any man minister, let him do it as of the ability which God giveth: that God in all things may be glorified through Jesus Christ, to whom be praise and dominion for ever and ever. Amen.” – 1 Peter 4:11
This is the most rediculous blog post I have ever read. Way to go, Hank.
I’m from enfland i can tell you guys he’s got a cockny accent, that os a londin accent or east london to be precisem or to be more precise a true cockwny has to be born within the sound of bow bells. hope that clears that up.
I think you guys should have fought to see who was right. To the death.
Or at least played paper, rock, scissors or something. After all, how else will we know?
I’ve decided, if the current trend is unchanged, the Gecko’s accent will continue to devolve from Upper-class British, to working class Australian, and finally to American “frat boy talk” – which is classified most directly as the excessive use of the terms- Dude, and Sweet, as well as the over use of the term “that’s gay”.
I know, I wish it were not true myself,….but one day of research and 9 months of verifiable devolution of accent-al degression does not lie…
Sorry, chaps, but it’s time to ‘ear from the linguist in the crowd. As the above article suggests, the first of the commercials were indeed a high society-sounding british accent (reminiscent of Sir Anthony Hopkins), although I can’t determinately comment on the region. However there is absolutely no question that the current accent portrayed is NOT REMOTELY AUSTRALIAN, but in fact a type of British accent called “cockney,” which originates from the worker class in inner-city London. This accent can be heard in any Jasan Statham movie (Crank, The Italian Job, Snatch, Lock Stock and Two Smoking Barrells, Cellular, The Transporter, etc.)
Howdiddlyever, I myself have on several different occasions, picked out an Aussie, only to find out they were from south London. All that to say, let all who thought the gecko Australian be consoled.
P.S. One sure-fire way to distinguish Australian from British cockney is the pronunciation of t’s at the beginning or end of a syllable. Australians make them into d’s, and inner-city Brit’s swallow them altogether.
Ex: “butter”
Australian: bah-dah
Brit. Cockney: bah’ah
I love the cavemen commerical, it doesn’t matter how many times I watch it, it always make me laugh
[...] Jump to Comments So you’ve all seen the Geico Gecko spots on TV, and have perhaps seen our original post settling the brewing debate over exactly what kind of accent that little lizard was using in his [...]
The Geico Gecko (Part II - The Cavemen) « The Journeymen said this on May 1, 2007 at 4:35 am |
Thanks for the fun gecko spot….
this is the first time to your site and I love it. Thank you for having fun and keeping it centered around Christ.
I would like to use this in our youth group – if I have your permission.
Absolutely brother. Feel free to use whatever you like!
Especially my blogs! haha just kidding
ooh…mine too!!
y’all are too much…
I know…you miss us! We miss you too!
We used some of my name tags last night (the Sweet Thing sugar). The guys thought it was hilarious…lol
this was funny.
although i feel a bit out of the loop.
not to get all serious, but something you mentioned struck me, because i have a certain opinion on it (i want to hear yours first)
what do you think of the term “gay” as it is frequently used today in common conversation? (not to actually describe homosexual lifestyle, but more as an adjective)
other than it being outlawed and those who continue in its use being stoned, i’m not sure what to think about it…
but if we do take action against it, “fruity” should be on the list as well…
nice, O Gracious One.
good thing i think i agree lol
it really bothers me, because to me it’s just as odd as a casual use of “fornication” or heterosexual sin references would be… and yet i know SO many people who lightheartedly use it – all the time.
i’ve been struggling to decide if it’s something I should speak out on. it seems to hinder the Christian witness in it’s… hmm – the word is escaping me… well, the way it minimalizes homosexual sin…?
i’ll go with you in a sense. but, (even though I do this all the time) i think we may run into trouble when we start black-listing words that, when used in a certain context by certain people, have no connotations whatsoever to sin. for example, i know a friend of mind that likes to use the phrase “wicked cool”. now we know that there is absolutely nothing cool about wickedness, but we also know that that’s not even close to what this person is trying to say. for some words (especially slang) that are not explicitly curse words, the word must be contextualized, the intentions weighed, and grace extended for variations in language…
maybe?
in the commercial with the gecko walking in a park and he talks about how you get an english muffin….
does he say that you can even get with with butter and jelly?
or with butter and jam?
this is serious because my girlfriend and I are having a huge arguement about it. so help me out please, thanks.
come on i need to know.
I felt the need to comment on this, I actually am a Geico associate myself and during my orientation I was informed that the gentleman who does voice-acting for the gecko currently is actually from London. Great job to whichever one of you (I forgot already) said London.
Take it easy on the Cornhuskers… They’re in reload mode.
The geico gecko is one hundred percent BRITISH – more specifically, London. I used to live there. I even know who the actor is who does his voice – he is in the soap opera Eastenders , and his name is Jake Wood. He does an authentic London accent. Trust me. I am married to a Londoner and lived there myself for 15 years.
he says jam:)
the gecko says jam
His accent is a London accent – “cockney” if you will. case closed, there is no debate on this
What does the geico gecko say after being sucked up in the tube
What does the gecko say after being sucked up in the tube