[Rear View]

Peninsular Unveils New

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — A new billboard featuring 15-foot tall, three-dimensional ants is catching the attention of drivers heading south on I-95 through Jacksonville, Fla. Peninsular Pest Control’s new billboard is creating buzz and helping the company with its rebranding efforts, according to President Carolyn Richardson.

Richardson said she and her advertising team — which also includes Kat Casey of Greenhouse Studio and Teresa Eichner of Access PR — came up with the idea after a brainstorming session. "One of the things we discussed was how creative the Chick-fil-A billboards (which feature 3-D cows), are and that’s how we came up with the 3-D idea," Richardson said.

Richardson and her team came up with the creative design/sketch and enlisted Jerry Small, owner of Small Creations and the artist/builder who created the 3-D Chick-fil-A billboards. Small took the sketch and went to work creating the various components, which include: the billboard — which measures 14 feet by 48 feet; three large (15 feet) ants; and one half-ant (7 feet).

To create the 3-D ants, Small used polystyrene foam, which was carved, shaped, and sanded by hand. He welded a steel structure inside each of the ant’s appendages to give it additional support. "This was a fun billboard to work on because the articulation of the arms caused a bit of consternation at the beginning until I was able to figure out how to build it so that it would be sturdy (to hold up against the wind)," Small said.

The final steps included coating figures with a special material to make them impervious to weather and then painting them with an oil-based paint.

Special considerations had to be taken for the assembly of the billboard due to local ordinances. For example, the maximum distance for the extensions (in this case the ants) was 5 feet from the top and 2 feet from the sides. Also, the billboard faces southbound traffic, but it is actually on the other side (northbound side) of the road, which Richardson thinks actually has helps the billboard grab more attention because it is not the norm.

Richardson said she’s thrilled with the final product. "You never know with new advertising how it will work out, but I’ve been real pleased with the results," she said. "It’s been a memorable ad and we’ve received positive comments from the community."

Ultimately, the success of the billboard will be measured in dollars and cents — and so far, so good. In the week following the board’s April 16th unveiling, Richardson said the company tracked leads and one-quarter of all new sales leads were from the billboard. — Brad Harbison
 

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For the Adventurous Eater, Recipes for Caterpillar and Cockroach dishes

The Jamaican Web site, the Gleaner (www.jamaica-gleaner.com), posted recipes for dishes featuring caterpillars and cockroaches.

The site noted that caterpillars are a popular food source because they are common throughout most of the world. They can be eaten raw, fried, baked or even dried and stored for use at a later date.

As far as cockroaches, the Web site reports that they are best served simmered in vinegar then boiled with butter, farina flour, pepper and salt to make a paste.
 

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The Onion Pokes Fun at U.S. Bed Bug Problem

How big of a problem have bed bugs become in the U.S.? Big enough that they’ve become a part of popular culture as evidenced by an "article" that appeared on the news satire Web site "The Onion" (www.theonion.com). The item "White House Infested With Bedbugs After Biden Brings In Recliner Off The Curb" pokes fun at the U.S. bed bug problem with a fake news story about Vice President Joe Biden "scoring" a bed bug-infested recliner that someone had discarded.