The Great American Bacon Barter
Objective
When Oscar Mayer announced plans to release their new Butcher Thick Cut Bacon product, we knew we had a game-changer. Our mission was to raise awareness and build buzz for this new bad-ass bacon.
Insight
Data showed us that bacon was driving huge buzz online, but nearly all of the conversation was unbranded. We knew this was a serious opportunity to get Oscar Mayer's bad-ass bacon at the center of the conversation.
Strategy
In a land of bacon lovers, this new premium bacon was as good as gold – and we set out to prove it. How? The Great American Bacon Barter – a 3,000 mile social media-driven road trip that let people across the country prove their passion for bacon.
Comedian Josh Sankey traveled across the country with no cash or credit cards. Everything he needed along the way would have to be bartered for – with bacon, of course. Thousands of people took to social media to direct his road trip, live-bartering with Josh in towns across the country and giving him everything from food to gas to concert tickets – even getting a bacon tattoo.
Josh shared his journey each day across the brand’s social media communities. People talked, and the media soon took notice. Thousands of TV, radio and online stories turned the campaign into a cultural phenomenon, with Oscar Mayer’s bacon at the center of the conversation.
Results
By the time Josh reached LA, he had bartered 2,168 bricks of bacon with over 1,000 bacon-lovers across 3,688 miles.
The campaign earned over 335 million earned media impressions in a country of 300 million people, with major media outlets like The New York Times, Advertising Age, Huffington Post, CNBC, USA Today and NPR covering Josh’s journey.
Conversations about Oscar Mayer doubled during the campaign, and the brand saw a 41 percent increase in positive sentiment. Oscar Mayer became America’s most talked about bacon brand, generating more online buzz than its four biggest competitors combined.
"The Great American Bacon Barter" was named the Best Social Media Campaign at the 2012 Creative Media Awards.