"Wake Up and Smell the Bacon"
Oscar Mayer · The Social-First Era · ~2005 -- 2015
Cannes LionD&AD
*Cannes Lions Awards - Mobile: Innovative Use of Tech - Silver Lion *Digiday Mobi & Sammy Awards - Best Mobile Platform Innovation - Winner *IAB MIXX Awards - Best Mobile Innovation - Gold
Over nine months of R&D, we developed "Wake Up and Smell the Bacon," the world's only alarm clock device and app that lets users awaken to the sound and scent of bacon.
We created a video parodying the ridiculous, whimsical tone of contemporary fragrance ads and launched a website where fans could apply to win one of the limited edition devices. To help build buzz, we seeded a handful of devices with influencers (the device needed to be experienced to be believed) and used digital media to spread our comical video to the masses.
Demand for the limited edition product was sudden and massive, as more than 300,000 people applied to win a free device and 65,000+ people downloaded the app. Media outlets jumped at the chance to demo to the devices on TV and in the papers. USA Today called it "The best invention since whatever came before sliced bread."
Almost immediately, "Wake Up & Smell the Bacon" was a hot topic on national news shows and in major consumer and trade publications – garnering 450 million+ earned media impressions and making Oscar Mayer the most talked-about bacon brand in America.
Big Fuel, then 360i, during the years social-first creative went from experiment to proven model. Oscar Mayer, Oreo, NOLA. Multiple Cannes Lions. The era that proved branded content could be culturally relevant, not just brand-safe.