Atlanta , Georgia ( CNN ) -- Tired of all the squawking about America 's unemployment ? Try out for a job as a corporate duck . People are lining up in six major cities to audition Monday and Tuesday to be the next quacksperson for the insurance company Aflac . The scene in Atlanta was like the duck itself : grating , conspicuous , and most of all loud . `` Let me hear a duck skydiving , '' said casting director Brian Beagle . `` Aflaaaaac ! '' cried Sandy Smith , 54 , of Birmingham , Alabama , in her most terrified duck voice . One by one , the hopefuls waddled through , putting their ducks in a row as much as one can for a job limited by one bird and his one word . The contenders were allowed to grunt , groan and mutter , but their only word began with `` A '' and rhymed with quack . They quacked like Donald . They quacked like Daffy . They quacked shy , shrill , scared and silly . Recorders rolled as the wannabes channeled their inner ducks to quack like a duck in love ... a duck answering the phone ... a duck singing about being in love ... a duck on a wire ... a duck flying by ... a duck getting bad news ... another duck in love . Ducks fearful and ducks overjoyed . Traci Naman , 42 , of Atlanta did n't wait for a prompt to let loose her quackery . `` I figured he might have an evil twin , '' she said of the Aflac icon . `` And I thought it was time for him to have a girlfriend too . '' `` Let 's hear a conversation between those three , '' Beagle said . `` You 're the first person to present multiple ducks ! '' The six-figure voice-over job with benefits opened up after Aflac fired comedian Gilbert Gottfried for his fowl , er foul , Twitter comments regarding the Japan earthquake . The comedian later apologized . Aflac plans to screen about 1,000 live auditions and 12,000 online submissions , with the company 's new duck scheduled to quack out a new ad later this month . The duck , said company spokesman Jon Sullivan , perches high on Aflac 's organizational chart . `` Everyone is secondary to the duck because the duck is such an amazing campaign , '' he said . `` In the 10 years we 've had the duck , our brand identification has gone from slightly more than 10 percent to 92 percent . '' Several wannabes compared the odds of getting the job of official squawker to the odds of winning the lottery . Naman , an account manager for 14 years and unemployed for two years , felt triumphant simply by auditioning . `` I 've sent out applications and gone to job fairs and it 's like throwing your resume into a black hole , '' she said . `` Companies have done a good job of building a wall to keep people out . Just getting this job interview is like winning the lottery . '' The long-shot duck gig represented a brass ring to others . The last interview for Wayne Cobb -- a roofing contractor in Stockbridge , Georgia -- was when he was 18 . The 61-year-old contestant calmed his pre-quack jitters by rehearsing in front of his grandchildren with a duck puppet . `` It might sound corny , but this job would let me do some landscaping around my church that we do n't have the funding to take care of , '' he said . The high stakes prompted Lori A. Preston , 44 , to pop peppermints to keep her gullet from quacking hoarse . After her audition , she admitted her work experience with ducks was limited . `` Other than feed them and seeing the water roll off their back , that 's about it , '' she said . `` But they [ casting directors ] asked me to make the duck my own , and that felt really comfortable . '' Each audition lasted only minutes , and almost everyone left smiling . Leonard Bates , 56 , a retired FedEx shipping agent , felt good as he ducked out . He waved to those in the waiting room and said , `` Let the best quacker win . ''
Hundreds of people are pouring their hearts out in order to be the Aflac duck . They 're acting like ducks in love , answering the phone or getting bad news . Winner gets a six - figure salary and benefits for their artistic perfection . New duck replaces comedian Gilbert Gottfried , who was fired for talking about Japan .