Government Employees Insurance Company
(doing business as GEICO)

Type	Subsidiary
Industry	Insurance
Founded	Fort Worth, Texas, U.S. (1936) (75th anniversary)
Headquarters	Chevy Chase, Maryland, U.S.
Key people	Tony Nicely, Chairman, President & CEO, Treasurer
Products	Auto insurance
Revenue	US$9.212 billion (2004)[1]
Employees	27,000
Parent	Berkshire Hathaway
Website	geico.com

GEICO headquarters in Chevy Chase, Maryland

The Government Employees Insurance Company (GEICO /ˈɡaɪkoʊ/) is an auto insurance company. It is a wholly owned subsidiary of Berkshire Hathaway that as of 2007 provided coverage for more than 10 million motor vehicles owned by more than 9 million policy holders. GEICO writes private passenger automobile insurance in all 50 U.S. states and the District of Columbia. Rather than relying on agents to sell policies, GEICO uses a direct-to-consumer sales model and puts funds saved from not paying agent commissions toward the purchase of television advertising, with several campaigns running simultaneously in national markets. Its mascot is "Martin," a Gold dust day gecko with a Cockney accent, voiced by English comedian and actor, Jake Wood. GEICO is well known in popular culture for its advertising, having made a large number of commercials intended to amuse viewers.

History[link]

GEICO was founded in 1936 by Philip J. Carlton, Leo Goodwin, Sr. and his wife Lillian to provide auto insurance directly to federal government employees and their families.^[2] Since 1925, Goodwin had worked for USAA, an insurer which specialized in insuring only military personnel; he decided to start his own company after rising as far as a civilian could go in USAA's military-dominated hierarchy. Based on Goodwin's experience at USAA, GEICO's original business model was predicated on the assumption that federal employees as a group would constitute a less risky and more financially stable pool of insureds, as opposed to the general public. Despite the presence of the word "government" in its name, GEICO has always been a corporation not affiliated with any government organization.

In 1937, the Goodwins relocated GEICO to Washington, D.C. and reincorporated the company as a D.C. corporation after realizing that their business model would work best in the place with the highest concentration of federal employees.

An important figure in GEICO's history is David Lloyd Kreeger, who became president of the company in 1965 and helped steer it into a major insurance enterprise. In 1948, he formed a group of investors who bought into GEICO right before it went public that year. He became senior vice president and general counsel of the company. Six years after becoming president of GEICO in 1964, he was named chairman and chief executive officer. He retained those titles until he retired in 1975. He continued as chairman of the executive committee until 1979, when he was named honorary chairman.^[3] Intriguingly, the GEICO web site avoids any mention of Kreeger.^[2]

In 1974, under Kreeger's leadership, GEICO began to insure the general public, after real-time access to computerized driving records became available throughout the United States, and it was briefly the fifth-largest U.S. auto insurer. By 1975, it was clear that GEICO had expanded far too rapidly (during the 1973–75 recession) when it reported a $126.5 million loss. To prevent GEICO from collapsing, a consortium of 45 insurance companies agreed to take over a quarter of its policies, and it was forced to issue a stock offering (thus diluting existing stockholders) to raise money to pay claims. It took five years (during which the company shrank significantly) and a massive reorganization to set GEICO on the path to recovery.

Besides auto insurance, GEICO also offered other types of insurance during its history. From 1975 to 1985, GEICO's sister company, the Government Employees Life Insurance Company (GELICO), offered life insurance, and from 1962 to 1996, GEICO offered homeowner's insurance. Although GEICO has since focused on its core competency of auto insurance, selling GELICO to Legal & General, it uses its established direct sales infrastructure to market homeowner's insurance and many other types of insurance underwritten by other insurance companies.

In 1996, after many years as a publicly traded firm, GEICO became a wholly owned subsidiary of Berkshire Hathaway.

GEICO generally deals directly with consumers via the telephone and the Internet through its own insurance agency, the GEICO Insurance Agency, thus freeing up capital that would otherwise be spent on employing insurance agents in the field. The company does have many offices across the country for those consumers who prefer to deal with an agent. The company is now the third largest direct writer of private auto insurance in the United States.

Advertising campaigns[link]

GEICO has many well known ad campaigns. All are made and produced by The Martin Agency, which is based in Richmond, Virginia. GEICO ads have featured several well-known mascots, including:

• "Martin, the GEICO gecko" (an anthropomorphic Day Gecko)
• The GEICO Cavemen (from ads claiming using their website is "so easy, a caveman could do it") who then became the stars of the short-lived sitcom (unrelated to GEICO) Cavemen.
• A small stack of money with eyes and the song "Somebody's Watching Me" by Rockwell.
• Actor Mike McGlone, who uses film noir-style narration to compare the ease of GEICO to things, famous people, or idioms. ("Could switching to GEICO really save you 15% or more on car insurance?...Is having a snowball fight with pitching great Randy Johnson a bad idea?") The scene is then acted out, with typically humorous results. In addition to Johnson, other ads have included Charlie Daniels, R. Lee Ermey, and Ed "Too Tall" Jones among others.

There are also GEICO ads that feature stories from GEICO customers about situations in which the company assisted them, but are narrated by celebrities like Little Richard. Film trailer announcer Don LaFontaine appeared in one such ad, shortly before his death.

Competition[link]

GEICO's major competitors include Amica Mutual, The Hartford Financial Services Group, Liberty Mutual Insurance, State Farm, Allstate, 21st Century Insurance, Progressive, Nationwide Insurance, and USAA^{[citation needed]}. The October 2010 issue of Consumer Reports ranks GEICO 13th out of 22 automobile insurers based on a survey of more than 28,000 readers.^[4]

Slogans[link]

• A 15 Minute Call could save you 15 percent or more on car insurance (1994-2001)
• A 15 Minute Call could save 15 percent or more (1997-2000)
• 15 minutes could save you 15 percent or more on car insurance (2001-present)
• 15 minutes could save you 15 percent or more (2003-present)
• 15 minutes could save you 15 percent (2006-present)

See also[link]

• List of United States insurance companies

References[link]

External links[link]

• GEICO official web site

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Dikembe Mutombo

Mutombo with the Houston Rockets in March 2008
No. 55
Center
Personal information
Born	(1966-06-25) June 25, 1966 (age 46) Kinshasa, DR Congo
Nationality	Congolese/American
Listed height	7 ft 2 in (2.18 m)
Listed weight	260 lb (118 kg)
Career information
College	Georgetown (1988–1991)
NBA Draft	1991 / Round: 1 / Pick: 4th overall
Selected by the Denver Nuggets
Pro career	1991–2009
Career history
1991–1996	Denver Nuggets
1996–2001	Atlanta Hawks
2001–2002	Philadelphia 76ers
2002–2003	New Jersey Nets
2003–2004	New York Knicks
2004–2009	Houston Rockets
Career highlights and awards
4× NBA Defensive Player of the Year (1995, 1997–1998, 2001) 8× NBA All-Star (1992, 1995–1998, 2000–2002) 2× NBA Rebounding Champion (2000, 2001) All-NBA Second Team (2001) 2× All-NBA Third Team (1998, 2002) 3× NBA All-Defensive First Team (1997–1998, 2001) 3× NBA All-Defensive Second Team (1995, 1999, 2003) NBA All-Rookie First Team (1992) 2× J. Walter Kennedy Citizenship Award (2001, 2009)
Career NBA statistics
Points	11,729 (9.8 ppg)
Rebounds	12,359 (10.3 rpg)
Blocks	3,289 (2.8 bpg)
Stats at Basketball-Reference.com

Dikembe Mutombo Mpolondo Mukamba Jean-Jacques Wamutombo^[1] (born June 25, 1966), commonly referred to as Dikembe Mutombo, is a retired Congolese American professional basketball player who last played for the Houston Rockets of the NBA. He was the oldest player in the NBA at the time of his most recent season.^[2]

The 7 ft 2 in (2.18 m), 260-pound (120 kg; 19 st) center is commonly referred to as one of the greatest shot blockers and defensive players of all time, winning the NBA Defensive Player of the Year Award four times. On January 10, 2007, he surpassed Kareem Abdul-Jabbar as the second most prolific shot blocker, in terms of career blocked shots, in NBA history, behind only Hakeem Olajuwon. He is a member of the Luba ethnic group and speaks English, French, Spanish, Portuguese, Tshiluba, Swahili, Lingala and two other Central African varieties.^[3] In the second game of the first round of the 2009 NBA playoffs, Mutombo suffered a knee injury that kept him out for the remainder of the postseason. Soon after the injury, Mutombo announced he had played his last games in the NBA.^[4]

College[link]

Mutombo attended Georgetown University on a USAID scholarship, and his original intention was to become a doctor; however, the Georgetown Hoyas basketball coach John Thompson recruited him to play basketball. He spoke almost no English when he arrived at Georgetown and studied in the ESL program. He became an excellent college center, continuing Georgetown's tradition of producing great big men. He was a celebrated shot blocker at Georgetown, setting a team record of twelve blocked shots in a single game. Building on the shot-blocking power of Mutombo and teammate Alonzo Mourning, Georgetown fans created a "Rejection Row" section under the basket, adding a big silhouette of an outstretched hand to a banner for each shot blocked during the game.

While at Georgetown, Mutombo's international background and interests stood out. Like many other Washington-area college students, he served as a summer intern, once for the Congress of the United States and once for the World Bank. In 1991 he graduated with bachelor's degrees in linguistics and diplomacy.^[5]

NBA career[link]

Denver Nuggets[link]

Selected fourth overall by the Denver Nuggets in the 1991 NBA Draft, Mutombo's impact was immediate. As a rookie, he was selected for the All-Star team and averaged 16.6 points, 12.3 rebounds, and nearly three blocks per game. A cornerstone in the Nuggets' frontcourt, Mutombo became one of the league's best defensive players, regularly putting up big rebound and block numbers for five years with the club while averaging about 11 points a game. The team lacked a quality supporting cast, however, and at its best won only 42 games. In Mutombo's third season, however, Denver pulled off a major playoff upset by stunning the top-seeded Seattle SuperSonics in the first round, becoming the first eighth seed to win an NBA playoff series. At the end of Game 5, Mutombo fell to the ground, holding the ball over his head in a moment of joy. Mutombo's defensive presence was the key to the upset victory; his total of 31 blocks remains a record for a five-game series. The following season, he received the NBA Defensive Player of the Year Award.

Atlanta Hawks[link]

After the 1995–96 NBA season, Mutombo's contract with the Nuggets expired, and he signed a free agent contract with the Atlanta Hawks. Mutombo continued to put up excellent defensive numbers with his new team. Joining the Hawks made him more noticeable, helping him win two more Defensive Player of the Year awards and earn several All-Defensive Team selections. He also became fairly well known for his signature finger waggle, which he would point in a player's direction after he had blocked that player's shot. During the lockout-shortened 1999 season, he was the NBA's IBM Award winner, a player of the year award determined by a computerized formula.

Philadelphia 76ers[link]

With Philadelphis 76ers 1/25/2002.

The Hawks traded Mutombo to the Eastern Conference-leading Philadelphia 76ers in February 2001 for their injured center Theo Ratliff, as the Sixers needed a replacement stellar big man to compete with Western Conference powers Tim Duncan or Shaquille O'Neal, should they reach the finals. He earned his fourth Defensive Player of the Year award that season and also earned a trip to the NBA Finals, where the 76ers lost to the Los Angeles Lakers four games to one. A free-agent, he re-signed with the Sixers after the season. While his statistics were comparable in the 2001–02 season, the Sixers dealt him to the New Jersey Nets, fearing that his game had deteriorated.

New Jersey Nets[link]

The Nets were looking for a more physical big man to compete with Shaquille O'Neal and Tim Duncan, two of the best big men in the league who also led championship-caliber teams in the West. But Mutombo spent most of that season with a nagging injury that limited him to just 24 games. He was generally unable to play in the playoffs, typically serving as a sixth man during the Nets' second consecutive Finals run.

New York Knicks[link]

In October 2003, the Nets bought out the remainder of his contract and subsequently waived him. He signed a two-year deal with the New York Knicks a few days later. The Knicks later traded him to the Chicago Bulls in a package for Jamal Crawford. He never played a game for the Bulls, and they dealt him to the Houston Rockets in the 2004 offseason.

Houston Rockets[link]

Mutombo most recently played as a reserve behind Yao Ming, forming one of the NBA's most productive center combos. In his first season with the Rockets (2004–05), Mutombo averaged 15.2 MPG, 5.3 RPG, and 4.0 PPG. The Rockets lost in the first round against the Dallas Mavericks. In the 2007–08 season, Mutombo yet again received extensive playing time when Yao went down with a broken bone and averaged double digits in rebounding as a starter. The additional playing time gave Mutombo the opportunity to continue accruing blocked shots at a record-setting pace. On January 10, 2008, in a 102–77 rout of the Los Angeles Lakers, Mutombo recorded 5 blocked shots and surpassed Kareem Abdul-Jabbar in total career blocked shots. Mutombo is currently second only to Hakeem Olajuwon. Also, on March 2, 2007, in a win over the Denver Nuggets, at the age of 41, Mutombo became the oldest player in NBA history to record more than 20 rebounds in a game with 22.^[6] After contemplating retirement and spending the first part of 2008 as an unsigned unrestricted free agent, on December 31, 2008, Mutombo signed with the Houston Rockets for the remainder of the 2008–2009 season. He said that the 2009 season would be his "farewell tour" and his last.

In Game 1 of Houston's first round playoff series against Portland, Mutombo played for 18 minutes and had nine rebounds, two blocks, and a steal.^[7]

In the 2nd quarter of Game 2, Mutombo landed awkwardly and had to be carried from the floor. After the game, he said, "it’s over for me for my career" and that surgery would be needed.^[4][8] It was later confirmed that the quadriceps tendon of his left knee was ruptured in Game 2.^{[9][dead link]} Mutumbo announced retirement on April 23, 2009, after 18 seasons in the NBA.

Player profile[link]

The 7 ft 2 in (2.18 m) 260 lb (120 kg), Mutombo played center, where he was regarded as one of the top post defenders of all time. Nicknamed as "Mt. Mutombo", his combination of height, power and long arms have led to a record tying four NBA Defensive Player of the Year awards, a feat equaled only by Ben Wallace. Staples of Mutombo's defensive prowess were his outstanding shot-blocking and rebounding power: for his career, he averaged 2.8 blocks and 10.3 rebounds per game. He is second all-time in registered blocks, behind only Hakeem Olajuwon, and is the 21st most prolific rebounder ever.^[10] He was also an eight-time All-Star and was elected into three All-NBA and six All-Defensive Teams.^[11] Along with his defensive prowess Mutombo also could contribute offensively, averaging at least 10 points per game until he reached age 35.^[11]

Mutombo also achieved a certain level of on-court notoriety. After a successful block, he was known for taunting his opponents by waving his index finger, like a parent reproaching a disobedient child. Later in his career NBA officials would respond to the gesture with a technical foul for unsportsmanlike conduct. To avoid the technical foul, Mutombo took to waving his finger at the crowd after a block, which is not considered taunting by rules.^[12] In addition, his flailing elbows were known for injuring several NBA players, including Michael Jordan, Dennis Rodman, Charles Oakley, Patrick Ewing, Chauncey Billups, Ray Allen, Yao Ming, LeBron James and Tracy McGrady. His former teammate Yao Ming made a joke about it: "I need to talk to Coach to have Dikembe held out of practice, because if he hits somebody in practice, it's our teammate. At least in the games, it's 50/50."^{[13][dead link]}

Personal life[link]

Mutombo was born in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

Mutombo and his wife Rose have six children, four adopted.^[3]

Multilingual by both upbringing and education, Mutombo is able to speak English, French, Spanish, Portuguese and five African languages.^[3]

He was awarded an honorary Doctor of Humane Letters by the State University of New York College at Cortland for his humanitarian work in Africa.

More recently, Mutumbo was awarded an honorary doctorate by Georgetown University in 2010. There he delivered the commencement address for Georgetown College of Arts and Sciences, of which he is an alumnus.^[14] He also received an honorary doctorate degree from Haverford College in May 2011.^[15]

Mutombo's nephew Harouna Mutombo plays college basketball for the Western Carolina Catamounts. Harouna was the team's leading scorer for the 2009 season and was named Southern Conference Freshman of the Year.^[16]

Humanitarian work[link]

Mutombo speaks to the Senegalese population about the importance of sleeping under mosquito nets

A well-known humanitarian, Mutombo started the Dikembe Mutombo Foundation to improve living conditions in his native Democratic Republic of Congo in 1997. His efforts earned him the NBA's J. Walter Kennedy Citizenship Award in 2001 and 2009. For his feats, Sporting News named him as one of the "Good Guys in Sports" in 1999 and 2000,^[3] and in 1999, he was elected as one of 20 winners of the President's Service Awards, the nation's highest honor for volunteer service.^[3] In 2004, he participated in the Basketball Without Borders NBA program, where NBA stars like Shawn Bradley, Malik Rose and DeSagana Diop toured Africa to spread the word about basketball and to improve the infrastructure.^[3] He paid for uniforms and expenses for the Zaire women's basketball team during the 1996 Centennial Olympic Games in Atlanta.^[3] Mutombo is a spokesman for the international relief agency, CARE and is the first Youth Emissary for the United Nations Development Program.^[17] He has been a Global Ambassador for Special Olympics.^[18]

In honor of his humanitarianism, Mutombo was invited to President George W. Bush's 2007 State of the Union Address and was referred to as a "son of the Congo" by the President in his speech.^[19] Mutombo later said, "My heart was full of joy. I didn't know the President was going to say such great remarks."^[20]

On April 13, 2011, the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health awarded Dikembe Mutombo the Goodermote Humanitarian Award "for his efforts to reduce polio globally as well as his work improving the health of neglected and underserved populations in the Democratic Republic of Congo."^[21] Michael J. Klag, dean of the Bloomberg School of Public Health, said “Mr. Mutombo is a winner in many ways—on the court and as a humanitarian. His work has improved the health of the people of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, and the Biamba Marie Mutombo Hospital and Research Center is a model for the region. Likewise, Mr. Mutombo has been instrumental in the fight against polio by bolstering vaccination efforts and bringing treatment to victims of the disease.”^[21]

In 2012, the Mutombo Foundation, in partnership with Mutombo's alma mater, Georgetown University, began a new initiative which aims to provide care for visually impaired children from low-income families in the Washington, D.C. region. To date, over 300 children have been provided with prescription eyeglasses thanks to this program.

Biamba Marie Mutombo Hospital[link]

In 1997, Mutombo with the Mutombo Foundation began plans to open a $29 million, 300-bed hospital on the outskirts of his hometown, the Congolese capital of Kinshasa. Ground was broken in 2001, but construction didn't start until 2004, as Mutombo had trouble getting donations early on although he personally donated $3.5 million toward the hospital's construction.^[17] Initially Mutombo had some other difficulties, almost losing the land to the government because it was not being used and having to pay refugees who had begun farming the land to leave. He also struggled to reassure some that he did not have any ulterior or political motives for the project.^[17] The project has been on the whole very well received at all social and economic levels in Kinshasa.^[17]

On August 14, 2006, Dikembe had donated $15 million to the completion of the hospital for its ceremonial opening on September 2, 2006. It was by then named Biamba Marie Mutombo Hospital, for his late mother, who died of a stroke in 1997.^{[22][dead link]}

When it opened in February 2007, the $29 million facility became the first modern medical facility to be built in that area in nearly 40 years.^[23] His hospital is on a 12-acre (49,000 m²) site on the outskirts of Kinshasa in Masina, where about a quarter of the city's 7.5 million residents live in poverty. It is minutes from Kinshasa's airport and near a bustling open-air market. The hospital has full telemedicine capabilities with the United States and Europe through the network established by Medical Missions for Children.^[24]

National Constitution Center[link]

Mutombo serves on the Board of Trustees of the National Constitution Center in Philadelphia, which is a museum dedicated to the U.S. Constitution.^[25]

Career summary and highlights[link]

• 4-time NBA Defensive Player of the Year: 1995, 1997, 1998, 2001
• 8-time NBA All-Star: 1992, 1995, 1996, 1997, 1998, 2000, 2001, 2002
• 3-time All-NBA:

• Second Team: 2001
• Third Team: 1998, 2002

• 6-time All-Defensive:

• First Team: 1997, 1998, 2001
• Second Team: 1995, 1999, 2002

• NBA All-Rookie First Team: 1992
• 2nd on All-Time NBA recorded Blocks, 3,256.
• 2-time NBA regular-season leader, rebounding average: 2000 (14.1), 2001 (13.5)
• 4-time NBA regular-season leader, total rebounds: 1995 (1029), 1997 (929), 1999 (610), 2000 (1157)
• NBA regular-season leader, offensive rebounds: 2001 (307)
• 2-time NBA regular-season leader, defensive rebounds: 1999 (418), 2000 (853)
• 3-time NBA regular-season leader, blocked shots average: 1994 (4.1), 1995 (3.9), 1996 (4.5)
• 5-time NBA regular-season leader, total blocks: 1994 (336), 1995 (321), 1996 (332), 1997 (264), 1998 (277)
• Career averages (as of March 2008): 9.9 PPG, 10.4 RPG, 2.7 BPG
• Invited to be a special guest at President George W. Bush's State of the Union address, commended for his humanitarian aid to his homeland.
• Oldest player in NBA history to collect over 20 rebounds in a game (March 2, 2007 vs. Denver Nuggets)

NBA career statistics[link]

Regular season[link]

Playoffs[link]

See also[link]

• List of National Basketball Association players with 1000 games played
• List of National Basketball Association career rebounding leaders
• List of National Basketball Association career blocks leaders
• List of National Basketball Association career playoff blocks leaders
• List of National Basketball Association players with most rebounds in a game
• List of National Basketball Association players with most blocks in a game

References[link]

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Dikembe Mutombo

• NBA profile
• Basketball-Reference.com: Dikembe Mutombo
• Charting damage by Dikembe
• Dikembe Mutombo Foundation
• ClutchFans.net Dikembe Mutombo Profile - Houston Rocket Fan Site
• On the Shoulders Of A Giant, TIME magazine Europe, April 20, 2003

The GEICO Cavemen are trademarked characters of GEICO in a series of television advertisements for the auto insurance company GEICO that have aired from 2004 to present. The campaign was created by Joe Lawson of The Martin Agency. In 2004, GEICO began an advertising campaign featuring Neanderthal-like cavemen in a modern setting.^[1] The premise of the commercials is that GEICO advertises that using their website is "so easy, a caveman could do it"; and that this slogan offends several cavemen, who not only still exist in modern society but live as intelligent, urbane bachelors. Jeff Daniel Phillips and Ben Weber played the two earliest cavemen and continuously reprise their roles. Actor John Lehr appears most frequently as the caveman. Other cavemen are played by Ben Wilson. The makeup effects for the caveman include facial prosthetics, dental veneers, and lace hairpieces, and were designed and created by Tony Gardner of Alterian, Inc.

In an online interview with Esquire, Joe Lawson said that one aspect of the ads is a critique of modern political correctness.^[2]

The cavemen have been honored by the Madison Avenue Advertising Walk of Fame.^[3]

The GEICO Cavemen were notably created by The Martin Agency of Richmond, Virginia. This has been publicized heavily by the media.

Television ads[link]

1. As a fake, caveman-insensitive commercial is being filmed, the boom operator turns out to be a Neanderthal caveman who stops the filming and yells "Not cool!"
2. Two cavemen in their apartment watch the ad from commercial #1 on TV, and take offense at its condescending tone, as it makes cavemen seem less intelligent.
3. A spokesman meets with two cavemen in a restaurant to apologize for the promotion, explaining that "we had no idea you guys were still around." One of the cavemen tells the waiter, "I'll have the roast duck with the mango salsa." The other caveman informs the waiter that "I don't have much of an appetite, thank you." (Writer Ron Rosenbaum called the roast-duck line "the iconic moment" of the ad series, due to "the surreal contradictions" of cavemen "au courant enough to be unimpressed by now antiquated nouvelle cuisine.")^[4]
4. A caveman on a moving sidewalk at an airport spots a GEICO billboard featuring an overly silly representation of a caveman, along with the insulting phrase. The Röyksopp song "Remind Me" plays in the background.
5. A follow up to the fourth commercial shows the same caveman talking on his cell phone, complaining about the offending billboard, saying "I'm looking right at it!".
6. A caveman in a psychotherapy session complains to his therapist, played by Talia Shire, about GEICO's attitude towards cavemen. The therapist says that an ad that said "So easy a therapist could do it" wouldn't make sense to her.
7. Continuing the therapy session, the therapist says "No one said it was going to be easy." The caveman replies that if Geico had taken that attitude, "I wouldn't be having an existential meltdown right now."
8. All three cavemen are at a high-rise-apartment party. On the balcony, two of them discuss one caveman's decision to purchase GEICO's insurance because of its low price. The second caveman doesn't entirely fault him, but states that "a little loyalty would be nice" in their opposition to the company. During their discussion, the third caveman interrupts from inside, exclaiming excitedly "Tina's here; we're getting back together!" The first caveman quickly snaps at him, exclaiming, "Hey! Give us a minute!"
9. A caveman on a news-type talk show debates a human expert about whether or not cavemen "have failed to adapt." The expert insults the caveman by saying, "It looks like someone woke up on the wrong side of the rock."
10. The continuation to the tenth commercial, the woman on the bottom right says about how ego in our society is at the forefront. The man on the left asks the caveman, "Response?". The caveman's response is "Uhhhh, what?!?!"
11. The cavemen watch the show Cavemen, and ridicule the series. This ad premiered during Super Bowl XLII; the show itself had already been canceled.
12. A caveman dances in various styles in a rather ridiculous manner, remarking how hard it is to dance in such a style, making such exclamations as "GEICO probably thinks this is easy, too!"
13. "Match": Focusing on GEICO's sports marketing efforts, a caveman faces Billie Jean King in a tennis match. The caveman is winning handily, but when he looks at the scoreboard he realizes that it shows him losing 0-6, 0-6, 0-5. He doesn't understand, until he realizes the tournament is sponsored by GEICO. Feeling set up and humiliated by GEICO, he stands up and says "I get it! I quit, but I get it!" He then notices the chair he was just sitting in also bears a bold GEICO logo.
14. "Plane Banner": A caveman and his girlfriend arrive at the beach. As the lady begins to disrobe to her bikini a plane flies by with a GEICO banner. The distraught caveman takes his sunglasses off and says "I'll be in the car".
15. "Walkin'": Two cavemen ride up to an outdoor bar on motorcycles. At the bar, they see two typically beautiful girls who are clearly impressed by the bikers. The bikers then see a billboard similar to the one in ad #4 (although, since this ad targets motorcycle insurance, the caveman is on a motorcycle). They suddenly lose interest in the women, heading back to their bikes; the women seem confused by the sudden change in the cavemen's demeanor. The song "Hurt You" by The Sounds plays in the background.
16. "Number 1 Fan": A caveman is shown on a Jumbotron at a basketball game as the "GEICO Ultimate Fan." He rejects the congratulations of those sitting around him, although he just won court-side seats. As the commercial ends, the arena announcer plugs GEICO, using the "so easy" phrase.
17. "Metal Detector": A caveman is walking on the beach with his girlfriend, looking for treasure with a metal detector. The device beeps, exciting the couple. The caveman digs into the sand with a net and pulls out a set of car keys with a GEICO key chain attached. He throws the keys and metal detector on the ground and walks away in disgust.
18. "Breaking Point": A caveman who is dressed as a caricature of Modern Man sees an advertisement for Geico on many televisions through a window and can't take it anymore; he takes off his glasses, unties his ponytail, and takes off his coat, and runs away acting like his former caveman-self set to "Let Me Be Myself" by 3 Doors Down. This scene was used in part for the music video of the same song.
19. "Bowling": The continuation of the 19th commercial, the caveman comes across a bowling alley and sees two of his caveman buddies there and joins the game with them. The caveman who just came in went first, and one of his buddies went second. While the second caveman's pin sweeper is sweeping the pins, it shows on the pin sweeper an advertisement for Geico with the "So easy" phrase, along with the GEICO logo on the pinsetter. This was also set to "Let Me Be Myself" by 3 Doors Down. This video served as the ending to the music video of the same song.
20. "Glovebox": This is a commercial for a Geico iPhone App called "Glovebox" which is demonstrated by a hand model (with an unusually hairy hand). The end of the commercial's script states the app is "So Easy a Caveman Can Do It", which angers the hand model, who is revealed to be a Caveman as he storms off, saying, "Where's my coat? It was suede, with the fringe!"
21. "Fire": Part of a separate series of Geico commercials where in which actor Mike McGlone walks into an empty room and asks a rhetorical and/or obvious question. In the commercial, his question is "Could switching to GEICO really save you 15 percent or more on car insurance? Did the Cavemen invent fire?" The scene then cuts to one of the Cavemen on a bed reading with a woman, he looks at the camera and sighs, then picks up his remote and turns his fireplace on.

Also, at the time of the launch of the Caveman's Crib website, a short advertisement featuring all cavemen at the "hip party" featured on the website was added after every Caveman commercial that was currently airing.

Recently, one of the Cavemen was spotted filming a new commercial (or series of commercials) in Homer, Alaska on the Time Bandit boat (from The Deadliest Catch TV series). The Mayor of the city presented the caveman with a key to the city.^[5]

Television sitcom spin-off[link]

On March 2, 2007, Variety reported that a sitcom based on the cavemen characters, simply titled Cavemen, was being developed for ABC.^[6] The magazine reported, "'Cavemen' will revolve around three pre-historic men who must battle prejudice as they attempt to live as normal thirtysomethings in modern Atlanta." ABC announced this series for their fall schedule in May 2007. Originally it featured none of the Cavemen from the commercials, but Jeff Daniel Phillips later agreed to join the cast. It premiered on October 2, 2007. In the face of sagging ratings, it was quietly cancelled, automatically being the shortest lived ABC sitcom of the season. In February 2008, a new series of Caveman commercials featured two of the characters spoofing the premise of the show.

References[link]

See also[link]

• Neanderthals in popular culture

External links[link]

• Geico Cavemen Fan Site - unofficial site
• Advertising Industry critiques Caveman's Crib
• Geico Caveman Ads reviewed
• Unofficial Geico Cavemen FAQ and Definitive Video Post
• Jeffrey Daniel Phillips at the Internet Movie Database Trivia - Portrays one of the Cavemen in the Geico Insurance Commercials
• Ben Weber at the Internet Movie Database Trivia - Portrays one of the "Cavemen" in the Geico Insurance Commercials

Donald Leroy "Don" LaFontaine^[1] (August 26, 1940 – September 1, 2008) was an American voice actor famous for recording more than 5,000 film trailers and hundreds of thousands of television advertisements, network promotions, and video game trailers. His nicknames included "Thunder Throat" and "The Voice of God".^[2] He became identified with the phrase "In a world…", which has been used in movie trailers so frequently that it has become a cliché. He parodied his career several times, most recently in commercials for GEICO insurance and the Mega Millions lottery game.

Early life[link]

LaFontaine was born August 26, 1940, in Duluth, Minnesota, to Alfred and Ruby LaFontaine.^[3] According to LaFontaine himself, his voice cracked at the age of 13 in the middle of a sentence, giving him the bass tones that would later bring him much fame and success.^[4] After graduating from high school, he enlisted in the United States Army, and worked as a recording engineer for the Army Band and Chorus.

Career[link]

LaFontaine continued to work as a recording engineer after discharge and began working at the National Recording Studios in New York City, where, in 1962, he had the opportunity to work with producer Floyd Peterson on radio spots for Dr. Strangelove. Peterson incorporated many of LaFontaine’s ideas for the spots and, in 1963, they went into business together producing advertising exclusively for the movie industry. LaFontaine claimed that it was this company that first came up with many of the famous movie trailer catch phrases, including his own future signature phrase, "in a world..."^[5]

While working on the 1964 western Gunfighters of Casa Grande, LaFontaine had to fill in for an unavailable voice actor in order to have something to present to MGM. After MGM bought the spots, LaFontaine began a career as a voiceover artist.

He became the head of Kaleidoscope Films Ltd., a major movie trailer producer before starting his own company, Don LaFontaine Associates, in 1976. Shortly thereafter, he was hired by Paramount to do their trailers, and was eventually promoted to a vice president. However, he decided to get back into trailer work and left Paramount, moving to Los Angeles in 1981. LaFontaine was contacted by an agent who wanted to promote him for voiceover work. Thereafter, LaFontaine worked in voiceovers. At his peak, he voiced about 60 promotions a week, and sometimes as many as 35 in a single day. Once he established himself, most studios were willing to pay a high fee for his service. His income was reportedly in the millions.^[6]

LaFontaine often had jobs at a number of different studios each day, and famously hired a driver to take him from studio to studio in order to save time finding parking. With the advent of ISDN technology, LaFontaine built a recording studio in his Hollywood Hills home and began doing his work from home.

LaFontaine lent his very distinctive voice to thousands of movie trailers during his career, spanning every genre from every major film studio, including The Cannon Group, for which he voiced one of their logos. For a time, LaFontaine had a near-monopoly on movie trailer voiceovers. Some notable trailers which LaFontaine highlighted in the intro on his official website include: Terminator 2: Judgment Day, Shrek, Friday the 13th, Law & Order and Batman Returns. LaFontaine stated in 2007 that his favorite work in a movie trailer was for the hit biographical film The Elephant Man,^[7] though according to a response to the question on his website, he had several trailers which stood out in his mind, and he didn't like to choose one.^[8]

Lafontaine also did announcing for a few WWE Pay Per View events, as well as the "Don't Try This at Home" bumper.

In a 2007 interview, LaFontaine explained the strategy behind his signature catch phrase, "in a world where...":

We have to very rapidly establish the world we are transporting them to. That's very easily done by saying, "In a world where... violence rules." "In a world where... men are slaves and women are the conquerors." You very rapidly set the scene.^[9]

LaFontaine also did other voice work, including as the announcer for the newscasts on WCBS-TV New York, from 2000 to 2001. LaFontaine was a recurring guest narrator for clues on the game show Jeopardy!^[10] and appeared on NPR's Wait Wait... Don't Tell Me! on May 14, 2005, where he played "Not My Job" (a game in which famous people have to accurately answer questions totally unrelated to their chosen professions). The prize (for a listener, not the contestant) is "Carl Kassell's voice on your home answering machine". LaFontaine did not win the game, and offered to record the listener's answering machine message himself. LaFontaine once claimed that he enjoyed recording messages like these because it allowed him to be creative in writing unique messages, and said that he would do so for anyone who contacted him if he had the time. However, by 2007, he found the requests to be too numerous for him to take on, and stopped providing the service.^[8]

In 2006, GEICO began airing an ad campaign in which actual customers told their own stories of GEICO experiences, accompanied by a celebrity who helped them make the story interesting. LaFontaine was featured as the celebrity in one of these ads which began airing in August 2006. In the commercial, he was introduced as "that announcer guy from the movies", with his name printed on-screen to identify him. He began his telling of the customer's story with his trademark "In a world...". LaFontaine credited the spot as life-changing for having exposed his name and face to a significant audience, noting, "There goes any anonymity I might have had..."^[11]

Death[link]

On Friday, August 22, 2008, LaFontaine was admitted to Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles, California with a pulmonary embolism and was reported to be in critical condition the following Tuesday. His family made a public appeal for prayers on the Mediabistro.com site.^[12] Ten days later, LaFontaine died on September 1, 2008, six days after his 68th birthday, following complications from a pneumothorax.^[13] He is buried at Hollywood Forever Cemetery. His final television voice over role was for the Phineas and Ferb episode "The Chronicles of Meap" in which he parodied himself, saying as his final line "In a world... There. I said it.". The episode also ended with a short tribute to him.^[14] His final movie trailer voice-over was for Call + Response, a documentary about global slave trade, for which he donated his talent.^[15]

Dedications[link]

On September 6, 2008, America's Most Wanted showed a visual with a picture of him with words below that said "In Memoriam: Don LaFontaine August 26, 1940 - September 1, 2008." John Walsh had announced, prior to the dedication sign, that LaFontaine—who had been the show's announcer since 1988—had died at the age of 68.

On the evening of September 7, 2008, Adult Swim had a bumper that said: Don LaFontaine [1940-2008].

At the end of the credit sequence in the Phineas and Ferb episode "Chronicles of Meap" there is a message on screen saying "In Memoriam... Don LaFontaine 08/26/40 - 09/01/08. One man, in a land, in a time, in a world... All his own." The credit sequence had been designed as a trailer for the "next" Meap episode, or as LaFontaine put it, "Episode 40 -- Meapless in Seattle". As the Disney Channel Original vanity card appears, you hear him say, "In a world...there, I said it. Happy?"

"The Apprentice Scout", an episode of Chowder, is dedicated to LaFontaine. The episode dedicated his memory and said "To Don LaFontaine 1940-2008"

Fellow voice-over artist and friend John Leader retired from the voice-over business on Sept 1, 2008 upon learning of LaFontaine's death.

Satire and other appearances[link]

His voice has been the subject of homage and parody, as seen in a Cartoon Network commercial for The Powerpuff Girls, and the stand-up comedy of Pablo Francisco. Comedian-actress Janeane Garofalo formerly performed "an impression of every movie trailer ever made" with the words, "In a WORLD!…" saying that every movie trailer seems to begin with LaFontaine saying, "In a world…" or "In a town…"

One trailer for The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy not only spoofs the "In a World Where" theme, but also includes LaFontaine parodying himself when the narrator defines what a trailer is, saying "Trailers also normally employ (enter Don's voice) 'A deep voice, that sounds like a seven-foot-tall man, who has been smoking cigarettes since childhood'.”^[16] The trailer is voiced by fellow voice-over artist Stephen Fry.

LaFontaine's voice was used in Family Guy episodes "North by North Quahog", and "Brian Sings and Swings", and The Untold Story version of "Stewie B. Goode", and has been featured in musical tracks.

On April 12, 2007, LaFontaine appeared on an episode of The Tonight Show with Jay Leno with ousted American Idol finalist Haley Scarnato to provide humorous "movie trailer"-esque commentary, as a spoof of his Geico commercial.

Selected filmography[link]

• Twister Fury on the Plains - Narrator
• The Terminator -Trailer Voice-over
• Terminator 2: Judgment Day - Trailer Voice-over
• Backdraft (film) - TV Spot Voice-over
• George of the Jungle Trailer Voice-over
• Cast Away - Trailer Voice-over
• Fatal Attraction - Trailer Voice-over
• Darkman -Trailer Voice-Over
• White Fang 2: Myth of the White Wolf - Trailer Voice-over
• Batman Returns - Trailer Voice-over
• Masters of the Universe - Trailer Voice-over
• Safety Not Guaranteed - Trailer Voice-over
• Cheaper by the Dozen (2003) - Trailer Voice-over
• Daddy Day Care - TV Spot Voice-over
• Chicken Run - Trailer Voice-over
• Pokémon: The First Movie - Trailer Voice-over
• Pokémon: The Movie 2000 - Trailer Voice-over
• Pokémon 3: The Movie - Trailer Voice-over
• Star Trek: Deep Space Nine - Episode Trailer Voice-over
• Dr. Strangelove - Trailer Voice-over
• PowerSlave (video game) - Narrator
• Extreme Makeover Home Edition - Commercial Voice-over
• Morrow Road - Trailer Voice-over
• Resistance 2 - Trailer Voice-over
• The World's Greatest Magic - Announcer
• The Land Before Time - Promo Voice-over
• 79th Academy Awards - Co-announcer of the 79th Oscars.
• America's Most Wanted - Announcer
• Beyond Belief: Fact or Fiction? - Announcer
• Birds-Eye Steam Fresh frozen vegetables - voice-over
• Entertainment Tonight and The Insider (2004–2008) - Announcer
• Mario and Sonic at the Olympic Games - trailer announcer
• Days of our Lives (1990) - Promo announcer during the climax of the Cruise of Deception storyline
• iZ3D Promotional Video (2008) - Commercial Voice Over
• Tomb Raider Underworld - Commercial Voice-Over
• Universal Studios Hollywood - 2001 Commercial Voice-Over
• MotorStorm - Opening game intro
• The Simpsons Movie - Promo voice-over
• South Park: Bigger, Longer & Uncut (1999) - Trailer Voice-Over
• Home Alone - Trailer Voice-Over
• Starship Troopers - Trailer Voice-over
• Casper: A Spirited Beginning - Trailer Voice-over
• A Christmas Carol (1997) - Trailer Voice-over
• FernGully 2: The Magical Rescue - Trailer Voice-over
• Random! Cartoons - Announcer
• Bof Productions Trailer (2008) - Trailer Voice-over
• Metal Gear Solid 4 - Trailer Voice-over
• A Man Called Sarge (1990) - Narrator
• Jak and Daxter: The Precursor Legacy - Trailer Voice-over
• Jak 3 - Trailer Voice-over

References[link]