It didn't take Aflac (AFL) long to find a new voice for its duck.

After ousting comedian Gilbert Gottfried from the job, the insurance company has picked Daniel McKeague, a 36-year-old television advertising sales manager and father of three from Hugo, Minn., The Associated Press reports.

McKeague was one of 12,500 contestants who sent Aflac voice samples. He had the luxury of recording his 30-second clip at KQRS, the Minneapolis station where he works. He uploaded it to Aflac's website and later did a formal audition.

Post continues after this interview with Aflac's chief executive about the Japan disaster:
McKeague said he has imitated the Aflac duck for years. "Whenever that ad would come on, I would imitate the duck, and the kids loved it," he told AP. His children are 5, 8 and 11.

He will get paid a sum in the low six figures for a one-year contract, AP reports, and the contract will likely be renewed for several years. Not bad for making a silly voice.

Gottfried was fired after making jokes on Twitter about the earthquake and tsunami in Japan. Aflac might have given him a pass if he had been talking about another country, but the company gets 75% of its revenue from Japan. Gottfried later apologized, but Aflac was ready to move on.

Aflac and its advertising agency culled the list of entries to three, and chief executive Dan Amos said McKeague was the obvious choice. "We thought he was the best by far," Amos said. "I can't explain to you why. It just was. Maybe it is part of the mystique of the Aflac duck."

Look for the first commercial with McKeague's voice later tonight during the NBC show appropriately titled "The Voice."