That GEICO Ad

I don't mean to give GEICO any more advertising, because it's hard to go a day without seeing an ad, but there's one ad that makes me, well, uncomfortable. Most of their ads are witty, but this one... this one makes me change the channel...

Talking about eye contact is difficult. Having an ad break the fourth wall and almost demand it? That's the stuff of advertising nightmares!

My day is spent attempting to avoid eye contact. I don't want a "moment" as this ad proudly states. My "moment" is spent with immense anxiety when eye contact is demanded. 

I realize eye contact is expected in situations and when it's absolutely required I can almost fake it until I make it. However, most of the time, eye contact gives me a feeling of unease throughout my body. Ever have a close call in a car? Or had a momentary sense of fear coming over the crest of a hill while driving and there's a highway patrolman in the median with a radar pointed in your direction? That rolling fear of pins and needles throughout the limbs is a great way to attempt to relate the anxiety experienced from eye contact.

I'm not calling for a boycott of GEICO, or super angry about this ad, but it's clear that there isn't an understanding about those that have aversion to eye contact. Even so, why would they? I can't fault them on this ad because, when I was a salesperson, I could make eye contact because I wasn't myself, I was almost like an actor playing a role, so it wasn't a personal experience. However, at the same time, this can be talked about in a blog post like this to start the discussion that eye contact isn't something to take for granted and for some of us, it can create a sense of pain.

If you see this ad on television, I'd like you to give it a thought and remember that, for most, eye contact is something easy and isn't even thought of. For others though, things that most take for granted are a challenge and to see it stated like it's just so easy, well, it can make the challenge all the more difficult.