Olson seeks to capitalize on the buzz around the upcoming third installment in SyFy’s Sharknado series (which debuts July 22), with the over the top shenanigans in its “Mosquitonado” spot for pest-control brand Terminix.
The spot takes the form of a movie trailer, opening on a woman preparing for a Fourth of July party. She’s annoyed by a mosquito which bites her while she’s forming burgers and then stops outside to a see the giant “Mosquitonado” swarm, letting out a big dramatic scream. From here the trailer just gets more and more silly and ridiculous, as citizens try to fight back against the swarm by any means possible. Sharknado star Tara Reid makes a brief cameo, with a tongue in cheek reference to her roles in the SyFy movies. Apparently released to coincide with National Mosquito Control Awareness Week (we had no idea this was a thing), the message seems pretty clear: with the summer here, mosquitoes will be a ubiquitous nuisance, even if the don’t approach “Mosquitonado” levels.
“We knew that if we wanted to get people talking about the world’s actual deadliest killer, mosquitoes, we’d need to create something truly outrageous,” Kelly Medley, vice president of communications at Terminix, told Adweek. “We’ve heard lots of people sharing that a Mosquitonado is something straight out of a nightmare,” she added. “They can relate with how annoying these buzzing bloodsuckers can be all summer long. Mosquitonado leaves viewers kind of frightened and very amused.”