Saturday, February 25, 2006

Just For Geeks

Is it just me, or do both of these characters share, not the voice, but the identical cockney accent?
I have found a list of men who lent their talents to voice the Geico gecko, including Kelsey Grammer, who is credited as the first voice of the gecko, but nothing--not one word--about who is voicing the new, cockney fellow who's out to recruit more geckos for Geico. I never could resist either of these characters pictured above, and I have to tell you, even with Spike, it was mostly about the accent. It just perfectly suited who he was. Same with the gecko. So, can anyone find out who is voicing the current incarnation of the Geico mascot; the one extolling the virtues of "free pie and chips?" (Admit it, you're laughing to yourself about the free pie and chips.)

And while we're on the topic of accents and exposing my utter innermost dork, there is one more British voice from which I would buy just about anything, and certainly believe anything, and that is a voice with a highly cultured London accent. It is the voice of this man, James Dyson:I can't tell you the amount of mocking I've endured when my husband has caught me running back the TiVo again and again just to hear that voice repeat a phrase such as, "The bags and filters were hopelessly clogged." When you can make something like that sound sophisticated, well, buddy, you're onto something. I swear I can hear both 'g's in the word 'clogged' the way James Dyson pronounces it.

Oh, and he's a genius, you know. That helps in the geek-appeal. Not just the superhero vacuum cleaners, but things like the Ballbarrel, Sea Truck and others.

And he's an artist. Well, an artist of the deliciously nerdy engineering sort, anyway. People, he can make water flow perpetually uphill! Can you do that? All right, so that's not entirely accurate, but he can make water appear to flow perpetually uphill, and that's pretty good. And if that's not enough, there's his book, Against The Odds, or at the very least, this neat little downloadable game.

So there you have it. I'm a sucker for British accents and big giant brains. I'm not ashamed. Now go watch the gecko do "the robot."
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19 comments:

  1. British accents and giant brains?!? So nice to meet yet another Elizabeth Hurley fan! :-)

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  2. So hilarious. I have to tell you, though, that I HATE the accent on that vacuum guy! I almost have to change the channel. I just want to reach into the TV and pull that pole out of his ass!

    ;)

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  3. I laughed and shook my head at you through the whole post - UNTIL the water feature. Now that's a pretty neat idea!

    And I do love the gecko doing the robot. I giggle like a child when I see it.

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  4. you are too funny. personally I love the poop one more

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  5. I SO WANT ONE OF THOSE DYSONS!! My next vaccum WILL be a Dyson!

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  6. No doubt about it, those British accents make me swoon.

    Well, the women.

    You know.

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  7. I've never understood why the Geico lizard has a Cockney accent. It is an American company, yes? I always make fun of the way he says "free pie and chipsss".

    I want Dyson to start selling the pink G-Force vacuum. It's cute!

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  8. You ain't as big a sucker as I am. I took one look at my kid's dad and said, "Man, he's cute" and then he opened his mouth and his fabulous North London accent came pouring out and I said "I'm going to marry this man" within 5 seconds of hearing him speak.

    I'm such a sucker that even when I LIVED in England (2.5 years) I'd hear people speaking with their Oxbridge accents and go all glassyeyed.

    And oh, BTW, I have a GREAT idea and tag line. :-)

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  9. Dude. It takes a certain kind of British accent to get me all excited, and it's not that clanky "Aye Mate" kind. It's James Dyson's kind that should be an optional plugin for husbands everywhere.

    That and some Clive Owen accent. Wooieee. Yes ma'am.

    Ok. Now my stupid husband is on another continent and I'm salivating over the vacuum guy. GREAT!

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  10. Just a word of warning here: Americans are sometimes bowled over by these accents, but can't see that they're being hoodwinked into the belief that they are of a higher class. My dad's accent fooled many Americans and he was the biggest scheisster! The idea of British class is fading though. The England I grew up in is quite different from what we have now.

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  11. Yay, I to have fallen smitten by the accent of our cousins across the pond. But when it comes down to brass tacks, gimme my little redneck man anyday of the week.

    I've recently switched to Geico, but that's because I thought any commercial that puts a lizard in a convertible can't be all that bad. Plus I did save a wad of ca$h.

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  12. As you know I am a total sucker for the accent - it is horrible, but there you have it.

    Now if only I could find me an English man, sigh.

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  13. OMG, I thought I was the only person who though that lizard and Spike sounded EXACTLY alike!!

    I am a HUGE, HUGE James Marsters fan, so everytime those commecials come on, I sit there thinking..."Could it be??....Naaaah!"

    That's hysterical!
    (and I agree about the Dyson commercials, too. I grew up watching BBC shows on PBS, so I am completely partial to British accents.)

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  14. I LURVE the cockney gecko! He is a hoot!!!

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  15. I think that the gecko sounds like an actor named Callum Blu. Every Monday night on the WB I watch him as"Bob" on My favorite show, RELATED.

    (I MUST have a Dyson vacuum!!)

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  16. mmm. pretty, pretty Spike. I don't know if I have a bad ear or something, but I've never noticed the accent slipping, which is pretty impressive for a guy from Malibu.

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  17. Nope, he never slipped it. And I can usually spot that, even for a second. That's why I said these "characters" in my post, and used a pic of Spike instead of James Marsden.

    Oh, I know who Callum blu is! You're right. Funny!

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