Sorry to bug you

This story is timely, so thanks for taking in another publicity note this week.

If you thought you bought tickets to summer’s hottest show, you may have missed the biggest on the concert calendar. An Orkinstra is slated to play in Springfield, Ill., and it stars nature’s sights and sounds this weekend.

The event is already sold out, but don’t worry -- you can attend the “trillion-piece performance” virtually on TikTok.

In one of the smartest piggyback marketing and publicity rides of the 2024 calendar, Atlanta-based pest control company, Orkin, took advantage of a buzz that’s brewed for months. Maybe you’ve heard -- the cicadas are coming!

The Cicada Invadas

Two generations of these insects are scheduled to emerge from underground (we think it’s their speakeasy) on or around June 8 at 6 p.m. CDT when classically trained musicians, led by Bryan Rheude, will perform a 45-minute gig that mimics the bugger’s sound. For kicks and giggles, let’s call it the Cicada Invadas. (I thought that in the late Al Davis’ voice.)

Without going all lab rat, we’re told the bugs will rendezvous on Earth for up to a month to mingle and mate. Even better, we suspect they’re sports fans.

It’s a cicada Super Bowl.

Two teams of cicadas are expected to hang out in the southeast and midwest parts of the United States, and their names resemble Super Bowl numbers. The OGs are Brood XIX and are set to appear in 16 states. Gen BZZZZZ or Brood XIII will play in five states: Wisconsin, Iowa, Indiana and Michigan. (Go ahead — celebrate traditional Big 10 matchups, people.)

This publicity party has wings,

Orkin ripped through mass marketing swarms to create an event that imitates sounds of an insect, and secured its name to it. While reports have alerted us to the bugs’ incessant buzzing, Orkin embraced and used it to promote itself. The result is a symphony that represents a cicada’s lifecycle.

You thought Taylor Swift was the concert to see? This two-act cicada show isn’t expected again until 2245. Look for the Rolling Stones to open

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©Gail Sideman, gpublicity 2024