Skip to Main Content

SC Johnson's Raid® Bugs "Dead On" – Honored as One of Advertising's 10 Greatest Icons

New Museum of Broadcast Communications Exhibit Highlights the Top Global Consumer Brand Mascots

RACINE, Wis., May 8, 2015 – The Raid® bugs have always been the characters people love to hate. But this year, the Museum of Broadcast Communications is honoring these pests as one of Advertising’s 10 Greatest Icons. In addition to the recognition, the Raid® bugs will be included in a multimedia exhibition showcasing the top global consumer brand symbols and their creators, running at the Museum from May 9 through Oct. 31, 2015.

“We’re proud that Raid’s beloved bugs will be sitting alongside other global icons,” said Fisk Johnson, SC Johnson chairman and CEO. “My father helped create the first Raid® products nearly 60 years ago, and no icon has been more closely identified with the brand than these bugs.” 

In 1956, Sam Johnson, the company’s fourth generation leader, led the team that developed the first water-based aerosol insecticide that could be used inside as well as outside the home. To help launch Raid® House & Garden Bug Killer advertising agency Foote, Cone & Belding created the bugs. Illustrator Don Pegler joined the firm in 1962 and for 40 years was instrumental in bringing the bugs to life and giving them unique personalities. Over the last six decades, the Raid® bugs have evolved in look and style, but their connectivity to the brand remains constant.

“These little bugs helped define Raid® as one of the world’s top consumer brands,” said Bruce DuMont, president of the Museum of Broadcast Communications, located in Chicago. “This exhibit is a testament to their popularity in commercials, print ads, packaging and on grocery shelves.”

The Museum of Broadcast Communications’ “A Salute to Advertising’s Greatest Icons” exhibit will examine the creation and evolution of company mascots from their inception to contemporary use, through commercials, vintage print ads and packaging, and a wide variety of character memorabilia. For more information and a full list of the Greatest Icons, visit www.museum.tv

To learn more about Raid®, please visit www.raidkillsbugs.com

About SC Johnson

SC Johnson is a family company dedicated to innovative, high-quality products, excellence in the workplace and a long-term commitment to the environment and the communities in which it operates. Based in the USA, the company is one of the world's leading manufacturers of household cleaning products and products for home storage, air care, pest control and shoe care. It markets such well-known brands as GLADE®, KIWI®, OFF!®, PLEDGE®, RAID®, SCRUBBING BUBBLES®, SHOUT®, WINDEX® and ZIPLOC® in the U.S. and beyond, with brands marketed outside the U.S. including AUTAN®, TANA®, BAMA®, BAYGON®, BRISE®, KABIKILLER®, KLEAR®, MR MUSCLE®, and RIDSECT®. The 129-year-old company, that generates $9 billion in sales, employs approximately 13,000 people globally and sells products in virtually every country around the world. www.scjohnson.com