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 the TV and review them 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 due to a 2,700% lift in Oscar Mayer-branded bacon conversations online.

Bacon is the Holy Grail of American food indulgences, but people aren’t particularly choosy about what brand of bacon they buy. Oscar Mayer bacon is known for its quality and value, but it’s situated at a tricky price point: pricier than budget store brands yet less expensive than gourmet offerings. As such, the brand must constantly work to remain top of mind with bacon enthusiasts, so they are more apt to choose “the middle guy” (Oscar Mayer) in the aisle.

Few at-home culinary experiences rival the unmistakable scent and sounds of bacon cooking in the morning. Our strategy was to connect this euphoric, multisensory experience to our brand of bacon in particular. We developed “Wake Up and Smell the Bacon,” the world's only alarm clock app and device that lets you awaken to the sound and scent of bacon. We offered the device in limited quantities on WakeUpandSmelltheBacon.com.