While the debate rages around the Geico cavemen being turned into a TV show, it’s easy to lose sight that this is not a new phenomenon. Television shows and advertising have gone hand in hand since the days of the Texaco Star Theater. However, we don’t have to go back that far to see some other examples of commercial characters turned into TV shows. Cavemen, produced by ABC and Management 360, is merely the latest TV show to be created from popular commercial characters.
Baby Bob
If the success of the Baby Bob TV show is any indicator, then the producers of Cavemen shouldn’t quit their day jobs. Baby Bob, if you recall, was the talking baby spokesperson appearing in numerous commercials prior to getting his own TV show. Baby Bob was a midseason replacement during CBS’s 2002 season.
Initially, Baby Bob received solid ratings, but the novelty quickly died. Seeing Baby Bob talk for 30 seconds was one thing – a half-hour sitcom, something else.
For ABC’s Cavemen TV show to survive the Baby Bob test, it will have to air at least eight episodes (the number of Baby Bob TV shows that aired before cancellation.)
Of course if the show doesn’t work, the cavemen characters can follow in Baby Bob’s footsteps and return to commercials. In 2005, Baby Bob hawked Quizno’s subs.
Max Headroom
I include Max Headroom to clarify his timeline a bit. Unlike the cavemen characters in the upcoming Cavemen TV show, Max Headroom actually began as a 1984 British made for TV movie before becoming an advertising spokesperson for Coca-Cola. There seems to be a common misconception that Max Headroom was a spokesperson prior to getting his own TV show. ABC brought the character to television in 1987.
For Cavemen, another ABC TV show, to pass the Max Headroom test, it will have to survive into its 14th episode.
Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer
Rudolf the Red-Nosed Reindeer began as a promotional gimmick for the Montgomery Ward department store chain. In 1939, Robert May, one of Montgomery Ward’s copywriters was asked to create a Christmas story for the company’s holiday promotion. Ward created the Rudolph story, and that Christmas, 2.4 million copies of his story were given away.
In 1947, May persuaded Montgomery Ward to give him the copyright (as an employee of Montgomery Ward, the company, not May. owned the story’s copyright). Later that year a nine-minute theatrical short of Rudolph was released in movie theaters. In 1949, Gene Autry recorded the familiar Rudolph the Red-nosed Reindeer song, selling a phenomenal two million copies. In 1964, Rudolph became the star of his own TV show, a stop-motion special produced for NBC.
For the Cavemen TV show to pass the Rudolph test, it would have to be the longest consecutive-running television special in TV history, inspire a multi-million selling song, and a feature film version.
Well we know one thing’s for certain about the cavemen on ABC’s Cavemen TV Show, at least they know where they can save a ton of money on their car insurance.
