Oh, what we do to make a living. In this case the occupation is pest exterminator, which inherently isn’t the most alluring career. You have to build up a tolerance for pesticide fumes, crawl spaces and a collection of little and big critters—some with wings, others with stingers.
But this exterminator’s assignment goes well above and beyond the average (house) call of duty. We open on a woman talking to our pest professional in her home. She’s telling him about the incessant buzzing she, and now we, are hearing. The noise seems to be coming from beneath the floor.
The sounds are reminiscent of the locust attacks in The Good Earth—except in this case, we don’t hear any Paul Muni soliloquies. If they’re not locusts underneath the home, they’re mosquitoes the size of tennis rackets—or some other unknown aberration we might confront on the Sci Fi Channel.
The woman dismisses the notion that the buzzing is coming from a swarm of locusts. "They bump and click like something bigger," she says.
Next, the exterminator and the resident are standing next to the side of the house. The noise has escalated to a feverish pitch, as if the unseen creatures are either ravenous or engaged in a feeding frenzy. The woman then informs our pest pro that a cat went underneath the house last week—and never came out.
As the exterminator starts to loosen the mesh grid covering the home’s crawl space, a voiceover intervenes, breaking this offbeat humorous scenario with an unexpected, thought-provoking observation: "After all you’ve been through to earn your Social Security, make sure it’s there when you retire."
The spot concludes with the American Association of Retired Persons (AARP) logo, a super urging us to "vote Nov. 5th" and a Web site address (www.aarp.org). An accompanying voiceover relates, "Social Security—know where the candidates stand and vote."
The effectiveness of this spot is that it brings an AARP issue to roost for those of us who aren’t yet retirement age. "Exterminator" is one of three commercials in the campaign. "Tip Meter" is similarly themed as a waitress is subjected to an obnoxious customer who explains to her why she’s getting no tip for her service. Again, the importance of Social Security hits home—particularly in light of what workers endure in their daily livelihoods.
The remaining spot, however, detours from comedy to make another point on the AARP agenda. In "Drug War," we see a news report on TV about the futility of the war on illegal drugs, with billions being spent but largely to no avail in terms of preventing drug addiction and related crimes. The camera pulls back to reveal two senior citizens watching the tube, eating a meal off of TV trays. A voiceover comments that another important drug war is going on in America—the fight for affordable prescription drugs for seniors. This, continues the voiceover, is a drug war that can be won if we know where the candidates stand.
Jeff Gorman of JGF, Hollywood, directed the campaign for agency GSD&M, Austin, Texas. The GSD&M team on "Exterminator" consisted of creative director/art director Scott MacGregor, creative director/ copywriter Derek Pletch, art director Chip McDonald, copywriter Steve Zumwinkel and producer Sara Cherry.
Gayleen Sharon was both executive producer and producer for JGF, with Laura Macauley serving as head of production. The DP was Curtis Wehr.
"Exterminator" was edited by Jay Nelson of Swietlik, Santa Monica. Online editor was Swietlik’s Mitch Gardiner. Colorist was Steve Rodriguez of Company 3, Santa Monica. Audio mixer was Loren Silber of POP Sound, Santa Monica. Sound designers on "Exterminator" were Scott Ganary of 740 Sound Design, West Hollywood, and Swietlik’s Nelson.
Principal actors in this spot were K.T. Vogt, Josh Nathan. The SAG/AFTRA Commercials Contract Standing Committee has granted a waiver to allow commercials to be available for viewing on SHOOTonline.com. The spots cannot be copied, downloaded or emailed.
