[View Point] 'Talking walls' have people talking

One of the things I like most about being a member of the PCT staff is that we try to have some fun with the magazine. In addition to providing our readers with business and technical information, we strive to make the magazine a fun and entertaining read.
The very subject that we report on — pests — are multi-faceted organisms that oftentimes find interesting and bizarre ways of making headlines. Add to the mix the multitude of colorful personalities in the pest control industry and there certainly are no shortages of opportunities to take a stab at writing something humorous. Three instances stick in my mind when we tried to do something fun editorially.
• In 2002, then-NPMA President Bobby Jenkins appeared on NBC’s “Today Show.” His segment was followed by an appearance by pop singer Enrique Iglesias. In August 2002 PCT we ran a “Tale of the Tape” comparison of the Texas PCO vs. the Latino heartthrob.
• In early 2004, Bandit, a 75-pound raccoon, passed away and his photo made the rounds on the Internet. It also stirred the creative juices of the PCT staff, and we spent way too much time coming up with our "Top 10" list of rejected headlines for the photo of Bandit and its owner. We ran that photo and list in June 2004 PCT.
• Our January 2002 cover story, “Stayin’ Alive,” dealt with the emergence of cockroach bait aversion. We took that opportunity to run an illustration of a cockroach decked out in a 1970s disco jumpsuit in homage to the 70s film classic “Saturday Night Fever.”
Did we hit the mark with our attempts at humor? Who knows, but we had a good time trying. In the spirit of having fun, we’d like to tip our hat to the creative team at Terminix for their “If Walls Could Talk” TV commercials. The ads feature homes that interact with their homeowners. Each home in the series has distinct characteristics and personalities that are brought to life in the form of a human face which is seen on walls and doors.
My first reaction upon seeing these commercials was: “What is Terminix trying to do?” But after a couple viewings I figured it out: Terminix was trying to “put a face” to an essentially faceless problem — structural damages, which in most cases are hidden, that are caused by termites.
The commercials have created quite a buzz, even catching the attention of comedian Jay Leno, who used the commercials for comedic material for his May 9th “Tonight Show” monologue. “Have you seen this Terminix commercial where this woman comes into her house and all of a sudden this face forms in the wall?,” Leno asked the audience. “It starts warning her the house has termites, and then she says, ‘oh I better get Terminix.’ Lady, let me tell you something, if your wall forms a face and starts talking to you, call Ghostbusters.” 
Just how successful will these commercials be in growing Terminix’s market share? Only time will tell, but Terminix’s Vice President and Chief Marketing Officer Steve Good likes what he’s seen so far. “Our new ads have been extremely successful in capturing the attention of American consumers. Jay Leno’s ribbing is a sign that the spots are doing exactly what we intended — breaking through,” he said.

The author is Internet editor and managing editor of PCT magazine.