GEICO - “Does the Buck Stop Here' Ad (Rhetorical Question)

Rhetorical Question

This creative style approach asks a question to which no answer is required or expected. It is asked to bring your listener or reader to your chosen conclusion.

A rhetorical question, meaning a persuasive question, asks the listener or viewer something in a way that makes him feel positive about your product. The answer may be obvious, or the question may require no answer at all. The purpose of the question is to create an effect.

From late 2009 to mid 2012, GEICO aired commercials in which actor Mike McGlone walks into a room, asking viewers two questions, the first one being, “Could switching to GEICO really save you 15 percent or more on car insurance?”. The second question was a rhetorical question which is immediately followed by a scene cut to the subject at hand.

Some of these rhetorical questions include, “Is Ed ‘Too Tall’ Jones too tall?”, “Did the little piggy cry ‘wee wee we’ all the way home?”, “Does a former drill sergeant make a terrible therapist?”, and “Do woodchucks chuck wood?”.

In this video, the rhetorical question is, “Does the Buck Stop Here?” and then the camera zooms out as a buck (male deer) walks onto the stage and stops next to McGlone, who then shrugs his shoulders.

NOTE: This video is posted strictly for educational purposes and is posted under Fair Use to solely assist current and future advertising students and creatives.