What is The Annoying Thing?

A 3D-animated character built around a mouth-made engine noise, later rebranded by ringtone company Jamba! as Crazy Frog.

Where did The Annoying Thing come from?

The audio is a 1997 recording by Swedish student Daniel Malmedahl, and Erik Wernquist animated the character in 2003.

What does The Annoying Thing mean?

It refers to Wernquist's original title for the animation, which mocked how grating the engine-imitation vocal was; Jamba! later renamed it Crazy Frog for ringtone marketing.

How do you use The Annoying Thing?

Most uses are references to the 2005 'Axel F' single and music video, either as nostalgia posts or as sampled audio in remixes.

Is The Annoying Thing still popular?

The 'Axel F' music video passed one billion YouTube views in February 2018, and the character is still a recognizable mid-2000s reference point.

The Annoying Thing

1997viral videoclassic

Published September 30, 2026

The Annoying Thing, better known as Crazy Frog, began as a Swedish teenager's mouth impression of a two-stroke engine in 1997, got animated as a helmeted frog-like character in 2003, and became a mid-2000s ringtone empire whose 'Axel F' cover hit Number 1 in the UK.

earworm memes viral song memes mid 2000s memes advertising memes cgi animation memes

Overview

The Annoying Thing, marketed as Crazy Frog, pairs a helmeted, blue, frog-like 3D character with a shrill vocal track of someone imitating a revving two-stroke engine1. The audio predates the visual by six years, and the character was designed around the sound rather than the other way around3. Its animator openly disliked the Crazy Frog rebrand, pointing out that it isn't a frog and isn't especially crazy3.

The format that made it famous is the 2005 single 'Crazy Frog – Axel F,' which layers the engine-imitation vocal over a dance cover of Harold Faltermeyer's theme from Beverly Hills Cop, with an accompanying music video of the character being chased down a highway by a bounty hunter1. That video, hosted on the CrazyFrogVEVO channel, passed one billion views in February 20182.

Gallery

Origin & Background

Platform

File sharing sites (audio) / TurboForce3D.com (animation) / TV advertising (viral spread)

Key People

Daniel Malmedahl and Erik Wernquist

Date

1997

In 1997, Swedish student Daniel Malmedahl recorded himself mimicking the noise of a two-stroke moped engine and posted the clip online, where a TV researcher spotted it and booked him for a Swedish television appearance1. The recording spread across early file sharing services renamed as 2TAKTARE.mp3 and was later embedded in a joke 'Insanity Test' page featuring a Formula One car3.

In 2003, Swedish animator Erik Wernquist built a 3D character around the audio in LightWave and uploaded the short to TurboForce3D.com under the title 'The Annoying Thing,' offering it as downloadable AVI and MPG files3. Ringtone provider Jamba! licensed the character in 2004, renamed it Crazy Frog, and pushed it heavily in TV commercials across Europe1.

How It Spread

After the Jamba! ad rollout, dance producers Bass Bumpers and Off-Cast Project built the Crazy Frog vocal into an 'Axel F' cover, released in 2005 as a single credited to Crazy Frog1. Swedish studio Kaktus Film, working with Wernquist, shot the highway-chase music video that same year1. The track debuted at Number 1 on the UK Singles Chart and held the top spot for four weeks1.

The momentum drove three studio albums, Crazy Hits (2005), More Crazy Hits (2006) and Everybody Dance Now (2009)1. The official 'Axel F' music video was uploaded to the CrazyFrogVEVO YouTube channel on June 16, 2009, and crossed one billion views in February 2018, one of the earliest music videos on the site to do so2. Related uploads on YouTube keep the original animation and audio in circulation4 5.

Timeline

1997

Swedish student Daniel Malmedahl records himself imitating a two-stroke engine and posts the clip online[1].

2003

Animator Erik Wernquist builds a 3D character around the audio and uploads 'The Annoying Thing' to TurboForce3D.com[3].

2004

Ringtone company Jamba! licenses the character, renames it Crazy Frog, and launches TV ads[1].

2005

'Crazy Frog – Axel F' single debuts at Number 1 in the UK and holds the top spot for four weeks[1].

2009-06-16

The official 'Axel F' music video is uploaded to the CrazyFrogVEVO YouTube channel[2].

2018-02

The 'Axel F' music video passes one billion YouTube views[2].

How to Use This Meme

The character is used less as a remixable template and more as a nostalgia reference. Common uses include reposting the original Axel F music video, sampling the engine-noise vocal in mashups, or invoking Crazy Frog as shorthand for mid-2000s ringtone advertising.