Who would have thought that under the hard business exterior of mega-investor Warren Buffett lies the soul of a wannabe rocker? A surreal video making its way around the Net shows Buffett doing his best imitation of Guns N' Roses rocker Axl Rose, complete with waist-length hair, a purple bandanna, a black leather jacket and Axl's signature red plaid kilt from the '80s — all as part of an eye-catching video for Geico, the auto-insurance company owned by Berkshire Hathaway. And Buffett sings too. O.K., he attempts to sing.
The video, put together by Geico employees, shows workers breaking into song from their cubicles. The power ballad begins with a single employee singing "Jump online or call a rep / We'll guide you through it step-by-step / Twenty-four-seven we'll be there for you." Then a chorus of employees chime in, complete with guitars, drums and a cowbell. Someone dressed as the company's mascot gecko does his best Slash imitation on guitar.
But it's Buffett who steals the show, as shots of the billionaire investor singing and swaying à la Axl Rose from a spotlight-illuminated stage are juxtaposed throughout the 2-min. 24-sec. video. His grand finale comes in the final 30 seconds when he stretches out his tattoo-laden arm to an unseen audience and croons into the mike, "You bring out the best in me / You can always turn to me ... / We're always true to you / We'll do it all for you ..."
Geico puts together a video each year to play at the company's annual employees meeting, which was held in February. Geico employees star in the video and film it, and Buffett has taken part in the shoot for the past four years, says Phil Ovuka, director of creative media services at Geico. Buffett played a DJ one year and a hobo another year. This year, Ovuka wanted to push the envelope a little further. "We thought, What's the most ridiculous getup we could think up for Warren — and thought, Nah, we can't do that," says Ovuka.
But Buffett agreed to do it. When asked why, he replied, "I'm having trouble finding an agent that will take me on." To which we say, Forget talent agents. Geico's agents have got to love this guy.
Here's a link to the Geico video.