ORLANDO, Fla. – Middleton Lawn & Pest Control announces a new TV advertising campaign from PUSH Inc., which utilizes digital animation technology. The six animated television spots are part of Middleton’s new, fully integrated branding campaign.
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Each of the six TV commercials features an animated version of Middleton’s signature green frog as it eliminates a different household or lawn nuisance. For the production of the commercials, real cockroaches, ants and other pests were photographed and animated, layered onto images of specially built live sets and incorporated with character voiceovers and Middleton’s iconic frog. In “Buck Rogers,” the talking frog destroys a smug cockroach with a ray gun. In “Trainspotting,” a weed tries to bribe its way out of being run over by a locomotive, telling the frog, “I’ll give you a million dollars, I’m a dollarweed.”
"The ‘It's the Frog’ campaign is a natural outgrowth of Middleton’s frog brand icon,” remarked PUSH Partner and Creative Director Chris Robb. “From the company logo to yard signs to truck sides and every piece of literature and advertising that is done for Middleton, the frog’s smiling face is prominent. We thought it was smart to bring him to life in an entertaining way that was also based on Middleton's core function, killing pests and weeds.”
PUSH broke out of stereotypical “technician-featured” commercials for Middleton in 1998 with a humorous television campaign featuring cockroaches in Jello and a reminiscing grandmother falling through a termite infested porch.
In 2003, many other pest control companies caught on and began airing similarly entertaining commercials. In 2004, PUSH and Middleton began extensive research to determine what consumers valued most from a lawn and pest control service in order to determine a brand strategy and creative campaign direction. Because of the frog’s presence in the past, the public had already identified Middleton with its amphibian icon. It was then decided to base the new campaign on the strong identifier of the company, so consumers would continue associating the icon with Middleton – It’s the Frog.
“Once again PUSH has broken an industry mold for Middleton, setting us apart from our competition,” said Greg Clendenin, president and CEO of Middleton Lawn & Pest Control. “These spots will attract attention because of their unique animation and characters, while driving home valued service features desired by customers at the conclusion of each commercial; all which are key elements of the Middleton brand.”
The entire campaign for “It’s the Frog” launched this month after extensive qualitative research and creative brand campaign development. Developed and conceived by PUSH, the spots were produced in Burbank, Ca. with Moo Studios. In addition to television, media placement includes three versions of radio, which will run through December 2005 in Orlando, Tampa, Gainesville, Jacksonville and Fort Pierce, Fla.
To view the Middleton “It’s the Frog” TV ads and listen to the radio ads, visit www.pushhere.com/middleton.