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Crazy Frog
Crazy Frog at the Australian tour in 2005
Background information
Origin	Gothenburg, Sweden
Genres	Techno
Years active	2003–2012
Labels	Ministry of Sound Mach 1 Records GmbH Universal Warner

Crazy Frog, originally known as The Annoying Thing, is a Swedish CGI-animated character created in 2003 by actor and playwright Erik Wernquist. Marketed by the ringtone provider Jamba! (later known as Jamster), he was originally created to accompany a sound effect produced by Daniel Malmedahl in 1997 while attempting to imitate the sound of a two-stroke engine.

The Crazy Frog spawned a worldwide hit single with a remix of "Axel F", which reached the number one spot in Turkey, New Zealand, Australia and most of Europe. The subsequent album Crazy Frog Presents Crazy Hits and second single "Popcorn" also enjoyed worldwide chart success, and a second album entitled Crazy Frog Presents More Crazy Hits was released in 2006. The Crazy Frog has also spawned a range of merchandise and toys, as well as two video games.

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Other media

On 1 July 2005, UK-based publishers Digital Jesters announced that they had acquired the rights to the video game licence for the Crazy Frog. Crazy Frog Racer (featuring The Annoying Thing), released in December 2005 on PlayStation 2 and PC as a racing game. A year later in 2006 a sequel was released, entitled Crazy Frog Racer 2. Both were extremely panned by critics.

A string of Crazy Frog merchandise was released in the UK.

In 2005, the German production company The League of Good People was in talks with broadcasters about a TV series based on Crazy Frog.

The Crazy Frog toured Australia in late 2005, beginning in Perth on 4 December and continuing through other major capital cities. He made appearances at numerous shopping centres and major hospitals around the country.

In 2007, the Animation World Network wrote in connection with "The Annoying Thing" that there was a "planned feature film" to "be completed by the end of next year" into an animated feature film.

In 2017, a documentary called "The Not So Crazy Frog" was released, originally made in 2012.

In 2018, a trademark claim by Kaktus Films, the original owners alongside Erik Wernquist, that had music listed as one of many rights.

Discography

The Crazy Frog was broadcast for the first time on Belgian Television in mid-2004, though was named "The Annoying Thing" There it was marketed as Albert Motàr.

"Axel F" (a remix of the 1980s Harold Faltermeyer song produced by the German band Resource), was released on 23 May 2005 and became one of the most successful singles of the year 2005. The single debuted at number one in the UK, remaining there for four weeks, and it was released on the debut album Crazy Frog Presents Crazy Hits.

Albums

Singles

Commercial controversies

In February 2005, viewers submitted a number of complaints to the United Kingdom's Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) regarding Jamster!'s advertising campaign, complaining that Crazy Frog appeared to have a visible penis and scrotum. Some parents complained that this made inappropriate viewing for children. There were also complaints regarding the frequency with which the advertisement appeared on television, reportedly up to twice an hour across most of the day, with some channels showing it more than once per commercial break.

The ASA did not uphold the complaints, pointing out that the advert was already classified as inappropriate for airing during children's television programmes as it contained a premium rate telephone number, and that it was the broadcasters' decision how often an advertisement should be shown. Jamster! voluntarily censored the character's genital area (via pixelization) in later broadcasts of its advertisements. Similar action occurred in Australia, with similar results.

In April 2005, television viewers complained about misleading advertisements produced by Jamba!, trading as Jamster! and RingtoneKing. Viewers felt that it was not made sufficiently clear that they were subscribing to a service, rather than paying a one-time fee for their ringtone. The complaints were upheld; the full adjudication (PDF) is available online.

In May 2005, viewers inundated the ASA with new complaints regarding the continuous airing of the latest Crazy Frog advertisements. The intensity of the advertising was unprecedented in British television history. According to The Guardian, Jamster bought 73,716 spots across all TV channels in May alone — an average of nearly 2,378 slots daily — at a cost of about £8 million, just under half of which was spent on ITV. 87% of the population saw the Crazy Frog adverts an average of 26 times, 15% of the adverts appeared twice during the same advertising break and 66% were in consecutive ad breaks. An estimated 10% of the population saw the advert more than 60 times. This led to many members of the population finding the Crazy Frog, as its original name suggests, immensely irritating.

As the authority had already adjudicated on the matter and confirmed the matter was not within its remit, the unusual step was taken of adding a notice to the ASA's online and telephone complaints system informing viewers that Jamster!-related complaints should be directed towards the broadcaster or the regulator, Ofcom.

On 21 September 2005, the ASA ruled that the Crazy Frog, along with other Jamba ringtone advertisements, could not be shown before 9 pm. This adjudication was revised on 25 January 2006, maintaining the 'upheld' decision but revising the wording of one of the points.

In March 2005, anti-virus vendors discovered the "W32/Crog.worm" computer virus (a contraction of Crazy Frog), which spreads through file-sharing networks and MSN Messenger, exploiting the Crazy Frog's notoriety with a promise of an animation depicting his demise.

See also

• Giancarlo Meo
• Gummibär
• Holly Dolly
• Mickael Turtle
• Schnappi
• Schnuffel

Citations

Notes

• A In some territories, "Jingle Bells" was released as a double A-side single with a cover of MC Hammer's "U Can't Touch This", whereas in others it was released as a double A-side single with "Last Christmas": the latter was later released as a single in its own right.

References

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3. Grant, Jules (17 October 2005). "Crazy Frog hops on to small screen". C21 Media. Archived from the original on 4 January 2011. Retrieved 27 February 2015.
4. Cashmere, Paul. "Crazy Frog Tour Dates". undercover.com.au. Archived from the original on 25 August 2007. Retrieved 27 February 2015.
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External links

• BBC article: The Crazy Frog sound? That's my fault. Includes an interview with the creator of the sound, Daniel Malmedahl.
• The Times: Crazy Frog turns into a real prince.
• ASA: A Frog's Tale that spawned viewer outrage.
• Erik Wernquist interview
• Interview, HitQuarters Oct 2005

• Fictional characters introduced in 2003
• Advertising characters
• Frog mascots
• Internet memes
• Internet humor
• 2000s fads and trends
• Swedish Eurodance groups
• Fictional frogs and toads
• Obscenity controversies in music