Dung beetle or arctic dog? Vote for Frontier’s next tail critter

Election day has arrived -- at Frontier Airlines.

For the first time, the Denver-based airline on Monday asked fliers to vote for the next animal that should grace the tail of one of its planes. And here’s a game-changer in this election: Not all 18 contenders follow the cute-and-cuddly model. In fact, some are downright off-putting.

Fans may cast their ballot for hopefuls such as Paula the Pig and Duke the Arctic Dog (high on the cute index) or Doug the Dung Beetle and Samson the Sloth (uh, freakish and strange). “Don’t worry, buddy, I voted for you,” Samson fan Karen Koestler writes on the airline’s Facebook page.

“Traditionally the animals have been a grizzly bear, a cougar, but this is a departure from what we’ve already done,” says Lindsey Carpenter, Frontier’s senior manager of public relations and government affairs. Frontier has been painting animals on aircraft tails since the early 1990s, and each plane has a different animal. They turned them into “spokesanimals” in 2003 when they were given “speaking roles” in airline ads.

Fliers may cast their vote twice -- once on the airline’s website page (which has audition tapes you can watch to help make up your mind) and once on the Facebook page (where you can also leave comments). Those who vote on the airline’s website are eligible to win gift cards for Frontier of up to $2,000; those voting on the Facebook page could score a new iPad or Kindle Fire.

Vote on the full 18 from now through April 7 and then vote again from the top three from April 9 to 15. The winner will be announced at the end of April.