Pesky and painterly
The oversized pieces in “Chewed Art” are meant to stand on their own, aesthetically, but also serve as a cautionary tale to show homeowners “the potential warning signs of costly damage if left unprotected,” per Cam Glover, Orkin’s vice president of marketing.
Termite trivia: the blind creatures, often mistaken for ants but related to cockroaches, attack about 600,000 homes a year in the U.S., and most insurance policies don’t cover the damage.
To launch “Chewed Art,” creatives produced a cheeky 30-second video that gives a close-up view of the posters without initially letting on that the “makers” are insects. And mimicking a promo for a museum exhibit or high-stakes auction, the ad’s narration calls out pieces named “Undulate” and “Symphony of Decay.”
Bonus points for the classical music soundtrack and British voice over, which extend the ruse and set up the kicker: “This series is valued at tens of thousands of dollars…in termite damage.”
“Chewed Art” will run through October via online video, a dedicated landing page on Orkin’s website, and social content across TikTok, Meta, and Reddit.
The campaign follows a standout 2024 effort from the brand and agency that also dipped into artistic territory, with arthropods at the center.
The collaborators developed “The Cicada Symphony Orkinstra,” turning a rare cicada emergence last summer into a live musical performance. The 45-minute concert got a livestream on Orkin’s TikTok channel, with a full-length album drop on Spotify. (Moral of that story: bugs can be harmless, and melodic).
“Chewed Art” is another example of Orkin’s interest in tactics and creative that strays from the traditional pest-control category norm, Gozalka said: “They’ve embraced and committed to the idea that you can show your expertise through elevated content.”
