by jjneal
The Superbowl commands top dollar for advertiser airtime. Advertisers spend considerable resources to make commercials that are compelling and memorable. Some of the best commercials feature insects. Last year, Volkswagen had a hit with their CGI beetle racing through the jungle. This year, Chevy Sonic starred with CGI insects joy riding on the grill of the car. The hit commercial (below) features a dragonfly with crash helmet landing on the grill with an exhilarating shout.
Commercials often use fantasy to sell products because cold hard reality does not elicit the emotional charge needed to motivate the audience to become consumers. Fantasy shows us CGI insects joy riding in the grill of a car. The hard cold reality is 32 Trillion insects killed by cars every year. Cars are an important mortality factor for many species of wildlife including insects.
Conservation biologists are interested in the impact that roads have on endangered or threatened species. Among the insects on the US Endangered Species List is the Hine’s Emerald Dragonfly, which suffers significant mortality from collisions with cars in part of its range. Conservation Biologists, Soluk, Zercher and Worthington (Biological Conservation. Volume 144:1638–1643.May 2011) studied dragonfly roadkill mortality along a stretch of Illinois highway. They found that some species, especially those that fly low to the ground are more likely than other species to be killed by cars. Dragonfly species that can move vertically with more agility are less likely to be killed as are dragonflies that cruise at a height above most of the traffic. Careful planning and study is needed when roads are placed in sensitive locations.
This is a very interesting article suggesting how the importance of insects are used in advertising. Insects can be a very useful marketing tool because they are recognizable by all ages and with the use of a voice over they can become very entertaining. Also the post talks about how roads are significantly contributing too the extinction of many different species of unique insects.
I hadn’t ever really thought about the impact that roads and highways have on insect life, I always just found it inconvenient more than anything to drive down country roads and have my windshield and hood covered with insects, but after the data listed above, I understand that my point of view is obviously wrong in that I have been socialized to think of insects as meaningless. I hadn’t realized how many insects were nearing extinction because of highways and such, it is certainly a problem that needs awareness of these implications.
The commercial was hilarious! But I never thought about or realized the impact that highways and cars have on killing the insect life. Now that I think about it, that is probably how the majority of insects get killed. Yes these insects are harmless and it is a shame that cars are the reason of so many insects deaths but realistically there is nothing that we can do. People have to drive and it’s not like they are killing these insects on purpose so there isn’t a whole lot that we can do about this problem.
This article brings up some very interesting facts about endangered species of insects. I believe that although it may be burdensome to vehicle owners and a marketable commercial, the real danger could not only be in the endangerment of the species, but also if the endangerment leads to the extinction of a certain insect it could ultimately disrupt the whole food chain.
Great article! I guarantee no one had thought that deep into insects deaths on the highway when they saw this commercial. As you have pointed out, cars are a very important factor in the insect mortality rate. Cars could actually be killing of interesting species of bugs without us even realizing it. I also thought it was interesting that you brought up the fact that insects that fly a little bit higher can avoid getting hit by cars. Some lower flying insects may have to begin to adapt to the dangers of flying through car traffic. Another example how species are constantly changing over time.
Living in the country, I certainly know about insects hitting my windshield. I have never thought about indangered insects being hit by motor vehicles though. The idea of carefully planning road sections to avoid certain insect habitats is very interesting. Also the commercial was interesting in that they use the insects to portray how new and fun the vehilce is, when in reality it is one more way insects can be killed.
I found it really interesting that a lot of commercials use insects as characters in commercials. I never really thought about it before. Contrary to how they are portrayed in commercials, I also never thought about how many insects were killed by cars. Is there a way to help prevent this from happening?
This blog not only brings insects to the lighter side of publicity, it brings the issue of bug roadkill to the public eye. We all know when driving down a major interstate our windshields get covered with insect guts, but we do not take into account the severity of it. I never thought that car related deaths were a leading cause of insect deaths. I think that the cars keep the population in check, if cars were not involved the population of insects would be out of control.
Car collisions are not a “leading” cause of death, but they can have an impact, especially on locations near roads.
I found this blog very interesting. I had never thought about the fact that any of the bugs that are hit by my car could be some sort of endangered species and that I could unwittingly be contributing to their deaths. I would never have imagined that cars would have caused so many insect deaths.. It is also interesting and ironic that advertisers use insects that are killed by the cars to promote the cars by making it seem like the insects are enjoying themselves, which is far from the truth.
I was surprised when I read that a species of insect for example, the Emerald Dragonfly, was becoming endangered because of the mortality rate caused from cars. I never thought of something like driving on a road can impact a whole species. I am interested to see what role scientists will play when it comes to building new roads or high ways. I wouldn’t be surprised if the scientists will cause the government to make new road construction regulations. The latest Superbowl commercial including bugs is very ironic sense the car is responsible for a huge amount of insects deaths.
Hine’s Emerald is primarily endangered by loss of habitat. Cars are a minor factor, but cars and roads must be considered when trying to protect insect habitat.
Before I read this article, I enjoyed watching the advertisement “ Joy” by Chevy Sonic because I did not realize cars were actually one of major insect killers. I believed insects were relatively safe from cars since insects’ miniature sizes could absorb the impact of being crushed by the car. However, my assumption was totally wrong. I do agree with the idea regarding to constructing road after examining insect habitat because human do need to carefully consider “roads” for insects.
It is not difficult for me to comprehend how vehicles would be one of the leading insect killers. I have taken many long car rides to and from North Carolina or Florida that have resulted in seemingly hundreds of bugs plastered to our car topper; so I can relate. It is interesting to me, however; that there is such a stark contrast between the commercial and reality. I never would have guessed that cars would cause the extinction of certain species of insects, because they seem so plentiful. As the article concluded, I would agree that some action should be taken to ensure that roads avoid areas with endangered species of insects, or any species of animal for that matter, because they can be beneficial to the earth in many different ways.
I have never thought for endangered insects with this kind of perspective. This article is quite interesting and makes me consider on how we can live with insects in peace.
However, we all know that cars can kill insects, but it will never lead their extinction. There are other plenty of matters killing insects and some of them can bring serious consequences to all insects. Through this article, I found interesting of insects life and moreover I had time to think about other matters intimidating insects in real.
As a frequent user of highway due to my frequent trip between Chicago and Purdue, I found this article very interesting because I know that at the end of each trip I make, I have to clean my windshield because of all the bugs splattered on the windshield. But I have never thought it in a way that I was killing endangered species.
But I doubt that there is a way to prevent this from happening. Cars have became a major mean of transportation for people and limiting their use of highways would very difficult. And it would be impossible for us to block insects from coming on to the highway.
Also, this article reminded me of an animation movie with insects, which had a scene where the main character, the bee, was stuck on the windshield with many other insects, some dead.
I did not know that that great of a number of insects were killed by cars each year. I thought the Super Bowl commercial was quite comical how the insects were enjoying being in the grill of the Chevy. In reality, the insects are not enjoying being smash on the front grill of a car. I believe cars keep the population of insects down, but there are some species of insects that have never been studied by man before and are hard to observe due to being smashed in the grills of cars.
It is certainly an awe to see how insects can be portrayed so cutely, once their appearances are modified through computer graphics. This way, these cute insects can be adored by people of all age groups. I think there are two ironies in this commercial. First of all, the outlooks of insects are not so affable in the reality. Instead, people initially become startled when they spot these insects on the road. Secondly, the commercial had changed a negative relationship between the cars and insects to a positive one, which I think is a neat way to create a commercial. I was surprised when I read the section of this article about how serious of a role roads play on the insect mortality rate even to the extent of jeopardizing the endangered species. This is certainly a critical fact that we all must take an account of, and we should always consider wildlife sacredness when we are placing these roads.
Even though many people, myself included, get annoyed when insects get smashed on a windshield or stuck in the grill of a car, it’s depressing that so many insects are killed by cars. If I were to hit a dragonfly with my car, I would not think about the effect of its death on its species as a whole, I would think about how annoying it would be to clean its carcass off. Perhaps there is a way to modify automobile grills and windshields so that the effect of impact on insects is not as shocking or life-threatening.
Even though many people, myself included, get annoyed when insects get smashed on a windshield or stuck in the grill of a car, it’s depressing that so many insects are killed by cars. If I were to hit a dragonfly with my car, I would not think about the effect of its death on its species as a whole, I would think about how annoying it would be to clean its carcass off. Perhaps there is a way to modify automobile grills and windshields so that the effect of impact on insects is not as shocking or life-threatening.
Great article! I don’t think people realize just how much of an impact automobiles and other forms of transportation have on insects and other wildlife. Obviously, if an advertiser was to use the same idea with a person or a type of large animal, I believe it would cause quite the uproar. So, how is it any different to portray insects this way? This goes, especially because of those who are becoming endangered because of motorists. With Amanda Fletcher’s comment above mine, I think it would be a great investment for a company to look into modifying the automobile to make them insect friendly… or at least more friendly.
Wow! I never thought about how many insects were being killed by motorvehicles. I guess we never think about it when an insect splats on the windshield. I am astonished by the number of insects that die each year though, 32 trillion? That is a huge number, and it’s only going to increase. As humans we don’t think twice about killing insects, but really they are necessary in our world for things such as waste management (eating carccas, etc). Sadly, this will never change for the better and we will still continue to increase our driving habits, and more insects will become endangered. Very informative, thanks!
Great article and great commercial! As a videographer who has made many local commercials, the super bowl commercials are always very exciting for me. I did not see this one until now, but I really like it. Very well done. It is very hard for me to believe that 32 trillion insects die each year from cars! That number is gigantic! I was so astonished that I did some research and found the detailed information of the study and it is true. It’s amazing how we can affect other species so much and be so oblivious to it. Maybe someone should design a car that safely sucks in insects and disperses them through a separate “insect exhaust”
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I was pretty flabbergasted at the 32 trillion number mentioned in the article (in relation to the number of insects killed by cars every year). Figures that high tend to go over people’s heads and it’s hard to grasp just how big that number is. For reference, that number is approximately 4700 times the current population of the earth.
To think that certain insects, such as the Emerald Dragonfly, have endangering mortality rates due to automotive collisions is simply astounding. I’ve never really thought about the impact my vehicle could have on the insect community, but thanks to this blog I now know a little bit more.
This was a very interesting article about how cars affect the lives of insects. You never really think about how many insects die a second due to vehicles. I’d say the endangered species that fly low to the ground are pretty much out of luck. It isn’t really possible to reduce the number of insects killed by automobiles.
I actually saw this commercial during superbowl game. I thought it was phenomenal commercial in a sense that it can interest young audiences to adults. Especially, I thought it could give great impact to family who are considering their new cars which need to be safe, and stable for many reasons. Also in the middle of the article, story that 32 trillion number of insects are killed in the highway was also drew my attention. I think this advertisement also made a good connection and empathy with audience who have once, or at least experienced insects road kill in the highway. From this article, I once more thought insects could be interesting topic for advertisement and mean to draw audience attention.
Whenever I drive my car at home, on the Illinois highway since I am from Chicago, I would always have to go to a gas station to clean my windshield. I never thought of the site of my windshield being a sign of mortality for endangered bugs. However, the brighter side of the blog post is the commercial using unusual bugs throughout the entire commercial. I have never seen a spider like that before watching a commercial like this. I feel that I have never noticed bugs being used in commercials before until this blog post too. All and all, I feel that I need to be more aware of the bugs around me while driving and be more aware for bugs in commercials.
I found this post very interesting because I have never thought about how many bugs I have killed driving home. It was a great idea to throw that statistic in and make it a shocker to readers. It was also a eye opener on how insects are used in commercials and advertisement frequently.
This is an interesting perspective on a not so obvious ‘predator’ of insects. It seems that the number being killed seems so big that all insects will inevitably become extinct, I would presume that the total number of insects in the United States is so much larger than the number killed it should not be something to lose sleep over. Although the different insects with lower flight paths may be affected more, it may be interesting to see if it is possible for car manufacturers to create a windshield and hood combination that creates an airflow such that an insect approaching the windshield will be pushed out into an air draft away from the windshield and back to safety.
When driving down a country road, I always notice the huge amount of insects that get hit on my front grill and windshield. I never realized that the amount differs from country roads to highways. If you think about it, highways have more traffic, which leaves room for more dead insects. To create a commercial that makes it seem that the insects are happy riding on the front of a Volkswagen, is false. I’ve never put it into consideration that the lead to extinction of these insects is because of people doing everyday things, driving. It would be amazing if an engineer could come up with a solution. With the amount of technology that we have access to, something should be created to help preserve the lives of these insects.
It seems strange that insects are such a big hit in commercials these days. Most people are disgusted with bugs but when you put one yelling on the front of a Chevy Sonic, everyone loves them. I admit that the Chevy and Volkswagen are really enjoyable and funny, but if real bugs were used there would not be the same reaction. As for the vehicle mortality, that is a part of a bugs environment now. It is very hard to reduce road mortality without reducing the amount of roads or the amount of drivers, neither of which I see happening soon.
I find it surprising how many modern commercials are insect related. After thinking about how many bugs i have killed by driving on city roads, i realize that cars have a huge impact on insect death. Then when i think about how many are killed on highways, the deaths increase by a great number. I find this interesting and it brings up concerns about bug populations.
I find this blog very interesting. I never noticed how much insects were used in advertising campaigns. I thought that the commercial to express that fact was very funny. I also never gave much thought about how often insects are killed by the impact of cars. I had no idea that mortality of insect car crashes were actually studied. After knowing this fact, the commercial for the bugs riding and the bug hitting the grill is less funny.
I like so many other Americans don’t really respect insects as an important part of society. This blog was very enlightening. When it comes down to just pure statistics, the facts are staggering. I know that when I saw this ad last year during the super bowl, I laughed and dismissed it, not thinking of the real world applications and the way that humans take over natural habitats for insects, plants and the like. It just goes to show how ignorant we are as a society.
I especially enjoyed the section on dragonflies and how simple fluctuations in their flying behavior affects their survival rate. I’m not sure whether or not the loss of so many insects is detrimental to our human lives currently, however, it is a staggering statistic that I was unaware of.
This is great article! I watched these kinds of advertisements several times, but I didn’t know that the roads have on endangered or threatened the insects. Before reading this article, I had no idea that lots of insects are killed by the cars on the road. In my opinion, the humans are destroying the habitats of insects by creating the roads. Those insects that fly low have higher death rates compared to those that do not. When the dragonfly crash on the grill of the, as shown in the commercial, it is actually far from the reality.
I knew that a lot of insects each year got killed by cars. I would never have thought 32 trillion die each year. That is a lot of insects. I know that cars kill insects, but in my opinion there is nothing we really can do about it. I do not think a concern when putting in roads should be what insects live around here. When people drive they don’t worry about hitting insects. Even though this is a serious problem, I still think the commercial was pretty funny.
I am completely shocked to know that 32 trillion insects are killed by cars each year. Those are some staggering numbers. Although, I don’t feel that changing the course of a road or the location would greatly impact the dying dragonflies. It is their nature to fly where we drive because they fly low and cannot control vertical movement very well; therefore they die. That’s something that can’t be changed.
During this year’s Super Bowl I will have to admit that I thought the commercials were pretty weak, and while I thought the commercial with the bugs for the Chevy Sonic was mildly amusing, I could not have imagined that 32 trillion bugs die just from cars each year! When you add in other factors like predators, natural death, accidents, and human interaction they all make a bug’s life certainly not a rosy proposition at all! At the same time I do not believe anyone would be taken seriously if they were planning on moving road development just because insects would take a hit to their population. When it comes down to money or bugs, money is always going to be the winner whether it’s fair or not.
I never really thought about how many insects die every year from getting hit by cars on the road. Even if I would have thought about it, I never would have guessed that cars kill thirty-two trillion insects per year. Considering the large number insects killed by cars every year, it seems that it would be an extremely difficult problem to fix considering the force of impact between the cars and insects. Whoever can think of a solution to stop thirty-two trillion insects from dying by cars, I am sure that person will be very popular with the insects.
Samuel Gawaluck wrote this. I forgot to put my name on the post before I submitted it.
That is a lot of insects that die every year just from getting hit by cars. It really made me think even with all those deaths how many insects there are out in the world. I also didn’t know that there was different species of dragonflies that fly in different ways. Very interesting.
I never looked at this point of view before when it comes to insects. Most people just joke about killing insects in their grills and the theatrical portion of it for the commercial shows that perfectly. That is a much larger number of insects that die from this than I would have guessed and it al so was intriguing to me that roads are placed in such a way that they aren’t in high sensitive areas for bug safety. Glad I took the time to read this.
It is definitely true that the use of insects in commercials can add humor and fantasy to help a company sell their product. It is ironic that so many car companies use insects to help advertise their cars, when the cars themselves are a large killer of the insects, which is not really humerous at all. However, as stated, dragonflies and other insects with adaptations that allow them to fly vertically and be more agile are the ones more likely to survive; which is just another part of nature and survival of the fittest. Too bad the insects don’t know all the publicity they get from commercials such as this one.
This is a very interesting article. I never thought about insects in this way. I have never thought about how many insects die from vehicles. Now that I think of it I remember all the times I’ve washed my car and I’ve found so many bugs all over it. It is also very interesting to think about how many modern day commercials use insects and how they are portrayed in the commercials.
I remember when I was young driving through Kansas in the middle of nowhere; during the drive we splatted a swarm of bees that covered the entire windshield in insect guts. I always thought this was a funny story and really never thought anything significant of it. After reading this article I must admit that I am very shocked about the number of insects killed each year due to motor vehicles. This is something that never even crossed my mind, especially the thought of roadkill contributing to insect extinction. I have always viewed insect species as something we could really cause no harm to; and the thought of squishing one or killing one really is meaningless. Reading this article really taught me something new, and I am interested in learning more about insect extinction due to human related causes.
This is a very interesting article! Immediately after seeing this commercial on super bowl Sunday, I thought of Entomology 105. The use of the insects in the commercial definitely added humor. Most people don’t think about the danger that flying insects are in when it comes to vehicles. I myself will admit that I’ve never really seen it this way. I’ve always just been annoyed with the splattered bugs on the front of my car. However, now that I’m starting to gain more of a respect for insects it’s clear to see that this really is a problem.
I find it interesting that for two years in a row, insects have been incorporated in car commercials for the Superbowl. Insects play an essential role in human life, so it really should not be surpising that they make an appearance in these commercials. When I saw the commericial on Sunday, I expected it to have something to do with insects getting crushed on the grill of the car, not happily joyriding. I always thought it was nuisance finding squished insects on my car, but never thought about any further. This blog post highlights how cars add to yet another environmental issue. Although it is important to carefully plan where roads should be placed in regard to insects conservation, I highly doubt planners would keep that in mind above costs, convenience, etc.
I can’t believe that many insects die strictly from cars. I cannot even imagine how many are killed by humans in general. It doesn’t help that there are commercials that make it seem like this is not a big deal either.
Every year I look forward to Super Bowl commercials. I thoroughly enjoyed last year’s commercial with the Volkswagen Beetle. Chevy’s take on a commercial with an insect was very unique. Instead of a car’s grill being a place where they meet the undertaker, it was a place equivalent perhaps Six Flags Great America. I never really thought of insect roadkill as a means of population control. Hitting an insect in my car was more of a, “I better clean this off quick before it’s on there for good” idea. Now I think of it as a way of controlling the population of insects. At the same time, I still feel somewhat bad about it.
This article interest me because i did not know anyone actually had a number of bugs that got hit by cars. It’s amazing that we can come up with these factors and its even more amazing that they can figure out how this is endangering certain species. The commercial does show a lighter more comical side to the bugs on a windshield thing but that is to sell a car, in reality these bugs are in danger and now i know that due to reading this blog.
I remember watching this commercial and automatically thinking about my pet cockroach! It wasn’t that I wondered what would happen if he got hit by a car, I just didn’t see him in a couple of days then! The fact that 32 TRILLION insects get killed by cars alone is a very starling fact and I wish there could be something we could do to prevent this.
I am stunned to know that 32 trillion insects are killed every year. Those numbers are a lot higher than I could have ever thought. Though it does make sense that, that amount is killed seeing those numbers in comparison to the number of drivers there are on the road. Yet, I do not feel changing where and how often we drive will affect this number for dragonflies because it is their nature to fly low and it is our nation to need to drive to many places. In the end driving is our way as humans to indirectly regulate insect populations.