Advertising Campaigns
Until the late 1990s, advertising for the product included commercials that featured late professional wrestler "Macho Man" Randy Savage, who served as spokesperson. Each commercial would close with Savage bellowing "NEED A LITTLE EXCITEMENT? SNAP INTO A SLIM JIM!" Other notable spokespersons have included The Ultimate Warrior, Bam Bam Bigelow, Kevin Nash, Vanilla Ice and Edge.
The advertising campaign was developed at North Castle Partners in Greenwich, Connecticut, by Tom Leland and Roger Martensen, under the creative direction of Hal Rosen. The Snap Into A Slim Jim concept was originally intended for comedian Sam Kinison, but he declined. Hal Rosen then suggested using WWF wrestlers, and The Ultimate Warrior was selected for the kickoff spot. In addition to a TV spot, the Ultimate Warrior also recorded several radio commercials for Slim Jim in 1991.
The subsequent campaign featured Slim Jim Guy, a man in a giant Slim Jim costume, proclaiming "EAT ME!". These ads personified the irreverent personality of the brand and were conceived by Steve Mark and Steve Garbett (AKA Good Steve/Bad Steve) also from North Castle Partners.
Slim Jim advertisements were also heavily featured on MTV, ESPN, WWF and Disney Channel. Slim Jims was one of the earliest sponsors of the X Games when it was known as Destination Expedition.
In 2005, Slim Jim advertising featured the Fairy House Mother, described in a ConAgra press release as "a character resembling a tattooed rocker with wings - and a familiar MTV-type of humor young males enjoy."
A recent campaign depicted hunters hunting a fictitious "Snapalope" within convenience stores using urban camouflage. The Snapalope is a deer-like puppet made from Slim Jims.
In 2008, Slim Jim launched a new website, "SpicySide.com", encouraging consumers to get in touch with their "Spicy Side" by creating an avatar and fighting their friends in an online landscape called Spicy Town. Slim Jim also partnered with a well known Machinima artist to develop a World of Warcraft parody.
Slim Jim sponsored Bobby Labonte and David Green when they won the NASCAR Busch Series championship in 1991 and 1994, respectively.
The current spokesperson is retired WWE Superstar Edge, who is featured in their current advertising campaign. The commercials feature Edge waiting for various services, accompanied by his "Spicy Side", a mischievous imp version of Edge, who terrorizes everyone after biting a Slim Jim. Prior to Edge, "Macho Man" Randy Savage was the Slim Jim spokesperson. For a brief time in 1994-95, when Savage jumped to WCW, Kevin Nash and Bam Bam Bigelow substituted in commercials airing during WWF programming, but Goodmark switched to WCW programs.
Read more about this topic: Slim Jim (snack Food)
Famous quotes containing the words advertising and/or campaigns:
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