Geico 'Too Tall' Jones

I was watching TV and I saw a Geico commercial, where a guy dressed in a suit, looking fancy asks, “Could switching to Geico really save you 15 % or more on car insurance? Is Ed ‘Too Tall’ Jones, too tall?” It then shows Ed Jones at the doctor’s office. The nurse was trying to measure him, but she could not, because when she tried to measure him, the stick did not extend any longer. The commercial ends with the normal, “Geico. Fifteen minutes could save you fifteen percent or more.”

I can see rhetoric in this commercial. The man in the beginning is dressed in a suit for a reason. A man looks must more trustworthy when wearing a suit and looks professional. This is part of “ethos”. This man is establishing trust between him and us, the viewers. He also makes a reference to Ed Jones. Ed Jones was a famous NFL football player, who played for fifteen years for the Dallas Cowboys and also attempted professional boxing. The man in the commercial is mentioning the famous football player, because he is well known. He is seeking commonality between him and the viewers. A lot of people know of Ed Jones, and by referencing him, he is using another part of ethos.

This is also a fallacy. It is an appeal to illegitimate authority. Geico is using a famous football player to represent part of their commercial. Ed Jones is not qualified to give information out about insurance, making him an illegitimate authority.

I think that this argument was not persuasive, at least for me because I am not interested in insurance, at least for now. I do think that the commercial did a good job of wanting to keep the audience’s attention, because of the way it starts out and finishes with Ed Jones. So it could be persuasive for someone looking for car insurance that likes Ed Jones.