Raid is the brand name of a line of

insecticide Insecticides are substances used to kill insects. They include ovicides and larvicides used against insect eggs and larvae, respectively. Insecticides are used in agriculture, medicine, industry and by consumers. Insecticides are claimed t ...

products produced by S. C. Johnson & Son, first launched in 1956. The initial active ingredient was the first synthetic

pyrethroid A pyrethroid is an organic compound similar to the natural pyrethrins, which are produced by the flowers of pyrethrums ('' Chrysanthemum cinerariaefolium'' and '' C. coccineum''). Pyrethroids are used as commercial and household insecticides. ...

allethrin The allethrins are a group of related synthetic compounds used in insecticides. They are classified as pyrethroids, i.e. synthetic versions of pyrethrin, a chemical with insecticidal properties found naturally in ''Chrysanthemum'' flowers. They w ...

. Raid derivatives aimed at particular invertebrate species can contain other active agents such as the more toxic

cyfluthrin Cyfluthrin is a pyrethroid insecticide and common household pesticide. It is a complex organic compound and the commercial product is sold as a mixture of isomers. Like most pyrethroids (MoA 3a), it is highly toxic to fish and invertebrates, but ...

. Currently Raid Ant & Roach Killer contains pyrethroids,

imiprothrin Imiprothrin is a synthetic pyrethroid insecticide. It is an ingredient in some commercial and consumer insecticide products for indoor use. It has low acute toxicity to humans through the inhalation and dermal routes, but to insects it acts as a n ...

, and

cypermethrin Cypermethrin (CP) is a synthetic pyrethroid used as an insecticide in large-scale commercial agricultural applications as well as in consumer products for domestic purposes. It behaves as a fast-acting neurotoxin in insects. It is easily degrade ...

; other products contain

tetramethrin Tetramethrin is a potent synthetic insecticide in the pyrethroid family. It is a white crystalline solid with a melting point The melting point (or, rarely, liquefaction point) of a substance is the temperature at which it changes state from ...

prallethrin Prallethrin is a pyrethroid insecticide. Prallethrin 1.6% w/w liquid vaporizer is a repellent insecticide which is generally used for the control of mosquitoes in the household. Products It is marketed as a mosquito repellent by Godrej as "Goo ...

and

permethrin Permethrin is a medication and an insecticide. As a medication, it is used to treat scabies and lice. It is applied to the skin as a cream or lotion. As an insecticide, it can be sprayed onto clothing or mosquito nets to kill the insects th ...

as active ingredients. Raid Flying Insect Killer, a spray, uses piperonyl butoxide and D- phenothrin.

"Raid Kills Bugs Dead" slogan

The product's original advertising tagline from its introduction in 1956 until 2017, "Raid Kills Bugs Dead", was created by the advertising agency

Foote, Cone & Belding Foote, Cone & Belding (FCB), is one of the largest global advertising agency networks. It is owned by Interpublic Group and was merged in 2006 with Draft Worldwide, adopting the name Draftfcb. In 2014 the company rebranded itself as FCB. Parent ...

. The phrase itself is often attributed to the poet

Lew Welch Lewis Barrett Welch Jr. (August 16, 1926 – May 1971?) was an American poet associated with the Beat generation literary movement. Welch published and performed widely during the 1960s. He taught a poetry workshop as part of the University of C ...

, who worked for the agency at the time. The line was first used in commerce in 1966 and was trademarked in 1986. Noted

animation Animation is a method by which still figures are manipulated to appear as moving images. In traditional animation, images are drawn or painted by hand on transparent celluloid sheets to be photographed and exhibited on film. Today, most ani ...

director

Tex Avery Frederick Bean "Tex" Avery (February 26, 1908 – August 26, 1980) was an American animator, cartoonist, director, and voice actor. He was known for directing and producing animated cartoons during the golden age of American animation. His mo ...

was the producer of the first "Kills Bugs Dead" commercials. Artist Don Pegler developed the bug characters used in the US and continued animating them for forty years. Pegler "codified the look, feel and animation" of the weird insects that run in fear of Raid, according to Steve Schildwachter, executive vice-president at Draftfcb. The slogan had been part of a successful, long-running

advertising campaign An advertising campaign is a series of advertisement messages that share a single idea and theme which make up an integrated marketing communication (IMC). An IMC is a platform in which a group of people can group their ideas, beliefs, and conc ...

. Conjuring up images of an

Eliot Ness Eliot Ness (April 19, 1903 – May 16, 1957) was an American Prohibition agent known for his efforts to bring down Al Capone and enforce Prohibition in Chicago. He was the leader of a team of law enforcement agents, nicknamed The Untouchables. ...

-style raid on an illegal bar during

Prohibition Prohibition is the act or practice of forbidding something by law; more particularly the term refers to the banning of the manufacture, storage (whether in barrels or in bottles), transportation, sale, possession, and consumption of alcoholi ...

, the

television Television, sometimes shortened to TV, is a telecommunication medium for transmitting moving images and sound. The term can refer to a television set, or the medium of television transmission. Television is a mass medium for advertising, ...

spots have featured various

cartoon A cartoon is a type of visual art that is typically drawn, frequently animated, in an unrealistic or semi-realistic style. The specific meaning has evolved over time, but the modern usage usually refers to either: an image or series of imag ...

bugs plotting some silly scheme like invading a kitchen, only to be foiled by the magical appearance of the product which swiftly dispatched the bugs to various giddily horrible deaths. The bugs would scream the brand's name ("RAAAIIIID!!"), and then a huge cartoon-style explosion would occur, presumably precipitating their demise. Similar campaigns have been run in other countries, either by

dubbing Dubbing (re-recording and mixing) is a post-production process used in filmmaking and video production, often in concert with sound design, in which additional or supplementary recordings are lip-synced and "mixed" with original production sou ...

the US cartoons or by producing local versions, including those for

Baygon Baygon is a pesticide brand produced by S. C. Johnson & Son. It is an insecticide used for extermination and control of household pests such as crickets, roaches, ants, carpenter ants, spiders, silverfish and mosquitoes. In 1975, Baygon intro ...

, another S.C. Johnson brand of insecticides.

Illicit use

In recent years, reports of the use of heavy duty bug sprays as an illicit drug have gained notoriety. Although products such as Raid are relatively safe to humans (when used as intended), the act of huffing, smoking, snorting, vaping, plugging, drinking and/or injecting Raid or other bug sprays can cause irreversible neurological damage, or even death. In July 2019, it was announced that three people had died in West Virginia after overdosing on an unidentified wasp spray. Authorities have warned of a growing trend of ingesting bug spray in the southern United States, supposedly as a substitute for methamphetamine. Possible symptoms of ingesting bug poison include, but are not limited to: erratic behavior, nausea, headache, sore throat, extreme inflammation, redness of the hands and feet, auditory hallucinations, convulsions, coma, and death.

Competition

Raid's main competitors in the insecticide market are Black Flag, Hot Shot, Mortein and

(also sister brand).

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Raid (Insecticide) Insecticide brands Reckitt brands S. C. Johnson & Son brands Products introduced in 1956 American brands

"Raid Kills Bugs Dead" slogan

Illicit use

Competition

See also

References

External links