VO-BB - 20 YEARS OLD!

[anthonyVO]

what exactly is the accent the gecko has in the Geico commercials? and what is "pie and chips?"

I'm so local

-Anthony

[dhouston67]

I'd say it's East London, but I've never been, so...
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[Spacegypsy]

I didn't even see this ad until my husband kept whispering "It's pie ... and chips.... for free" in my ear in his NY version of a cockney accent. And it made no sense to me. Then, I saw the ad. I really think these guys should have done a focus group before they ran this ad in the U.S. Or maybe they did.

"Pie and chips" is really the old fashioned British McDonalds - it's our large, soft and buttery version of fries, with a savory pot pie, be it meat, (which is usually pork), cheese and onion, or chicken and mushroom.

The gecko is cockney. It's an East Side London accent.

[anthonyVO]

i enjoy the commercials and get the jist of his "grand plan" that he shares with the other lizards... but other than that, i can't keep up w/ wtf he's saying.
guess it doesn't really matter as long as I remember Geico

oh - and thanks for the gastronomical clarification - i think i'll pass

-Anthony

[Spacegypsy]

I wasn't offering you one

And yes, it does matter - after all, you might remember Geico, but you will associate it with confusion - not really condusive to resulting in a sale? Or do people really buy things as serious as insurance from a company that left them feeling confused?

[Dan-O]

Weird, I was having a converstion about the Gecko just last week The topic: How many different voices have they used for that character? Originally it was Kelsey Grammer (Frasier). Then, I believe, he had an Aussie accent for a while.

[Spacegypsy]

These days it seems commercial animators are going for the Brit accents to emulate the "Creature Comforts" series which was inspired by Wallace and Grommit.

[anthonyVO]

[Christopher French]

If Dan hadn't said the bit about Kelsey Grammer playing the Gecko, I was going to mention it.

Another bit of trivia. There was an actor that played on a sitcom on NBC in 1992 called The Powers that Be. He played the Congressman son-in-law of a Senator played by John Forsyth. The show was a flop and it was cancelled after half a season or so. The actor was not happy about his misfortune on NBC and had said, at that time, that he'd never do another sitcom on NBC. About a year later, this actor was called by his agent and told about a part where he was to play the brother of an already well known character. He went in and read for the part. By his own admission, he felt that the audition was terrible, but he got a call back the very same day, saying that he was hired. He was then told that one of the reasons he was hired was his strong resemblence to the show's lead character. He would end up playing the lead character's brother. The show ended up being a success from it's very first episode, lasting some 12 seasons on NBC and winning 5 Emmy awards. Who would have guessed that an actor who played on a barely remembered sitcom, and who vowed never to work on that network again, would turn around a year later on that network and become part of popular culture? The show was called Frasier. The actor. . .David Hyde Pierce. And now you know. . .the rest of the story. This is not Paul Harvey, but I can write a story like him. . .Good day.

(Thank you all for bearing with me in my Paul Harvey moment.)
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Christopher G. French

"The only limitations we truly have are the ones we place on ourselves." -Attributed to Donald Trump

[billelder]

The current voice sounds like Ricky Gervaise to me.

[Philip Banks]

For obvious reasons I don't know the commercial. If it's Ricky Gervais then the accent is Reading (Pronounced Redding) which is about 35 miles South West of London. London cockney, try this "Faw'ee farsand fevvas on a frushes froat, mite! Translation = 40,000 feathers on a thrushes throat, mate.

Traditional East London dish, going as far east as Kent, is Pie and Mash. It's pie and mashed potato. Rather than a cafe or a restaurant there are places called Pie n Mash shops. Think of this as a cultural exchange.

[Jim Barton]

The first time the Geiko gekko spoke was a few years ago. Then he had a distinct Carey Grant accent. Why Carey Grant is beyond me, probably the only "credible" character they had available for the shoot. ("Hey, let's use Timmy! He does a great Carey Grant!")

Anyway, the Carey imitation went away for awhile, now the Limey/CockneyAustralian accent has arrived. Why? I still don't know.

My office has CNN on all day long, and my brain is chock full of this useless drivel. Good morning, everyone!

Jim

[RadioMoo]

[Spacegypsy]

Oh my, steak and kidney pie, forgot all about it. Yum!

[Christopher French]

I think they should've just kept Kelsey Grammer.

And what, exactly does steak and kidney pie consist of?
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Christopher G. French

"The only limitations we truly have are the ones we place on ourselves." -Attributed to Donald Trump