The "pie and chips" reference in one of the commercials puzzles me, not so much because it's not a common expression here in the U.S. (it means "pizza and French fries", right?), but because the advertising agency chose to include the phrase in an ad aimed at Americans who would be unfamiliar with the expression.

Perhaps the ad execs figured that, even if Americans interpreted the phrase as meaning "baked fruit pie and potato chips" (as they most likely would), the basic message would be the same when placed in the context of the gekko's discussion (i.e. "who doesn't like free food?"). But it leaves me with a bad taste in my mouth, if you'll pardon the pun, because I feel it alienates the listener -- makes him/her feel like an "outsider" unfamiliar with the vernacular -- and why in the world would an advertiser want to alienate its target audience???

I prefer the older series of Geico ads, like the one where the gekko was driving his car into the Employee of the Month parking space! That was cute. The current ads have very slick computer tricks and all that, but they leave me cold.