Motorcycle Insurance and the Allman Brothers

We had some fun here last year with humorous insurance commercials. Maybe we should start a category for head-scratching commercials produced for insurance companies.

A definition used for the word irony is: Language device in which the real intent is concealed or contradicted by the literal meaning of words or a situation.

I think that perfectly describes the current GEICO commercial plugging their motorcycle insurance. Now don't get me wrong, motorcycle insurance is an important and valuable offering. In this ad, a motorcyclist is shown riding down the road with what looks to be a suit made of money; dollar bills are flying off the rider.

All the while, the gentle strains of the song Midnight Rider are playing in the background, with the voice of Gregg Allman singing and the guitar playing of his brother Duane. It's a lovely song that talks about riding, although it doesn't specifically mention motorcycles.

It's easy to get lost in an Allman Brother song; you don't hear many Allman songs in commercials. But then it hit me: Didn't Duane Allman die in a motorcycle crash? The answer, of course, is: Yes he did. In 1971, at the age of 24 and just two years after his band had formed, one of the most promising American guitarists of his generation was gone.

And then I remembered that the original bassist for the Allman Brothers, Berry Oakley, died in a motorcycle crash just one year later at almost the exact patch of highway in Macon, Ga., where Duane Allman lost his life.

So, to recap, two of the six original members of the Allman Brothers died in separate motorcycle crashes and 40 years later GEICO is playing one of the bands most famous songs to plug their motorcycle coverage.

Now, I don't expect the band to continue mourning the deaths of two of their circle for 40 years. That would be too much. But someone should have thought about how and where GEICO's advertising firm planned to insert this music.

GEICO is known for its humorous commercials—the cavemen among others—but this advertisement has no humor to it. Just a weird looking guy riding down the road with dollar bills falling off his clothes and the Allmans playing in the background.

It is, indeed, a crazy world we live in.