Over nine months of R&D, we blended a custom bacon scent, prototyped a device to deliver it, and developed an accompanying alarm clock app. To promote the product, we created a web video parodying the ridiculous, whimsical tone of contemporary fragrance ads and launched a website where bacon fans could apply to win one of 5,000 limited edition devices. To help build buzz, we seeded a handful of devices with reporters and infuencers (“Wake Up & Smell the Bacon” 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 307,000 people applied to win a free device and 67,000+ 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 520 million+ earned media impressions and making Oscar Mayer the most talked-about bacon brand in America.