Slim Jim
Encyclopedia
Slim Jim is a brand of meat snacks or dried sausage manufactured by ConAgra Foods, Inc. They are popular in the United States
. More than 500 million are produced annually in at least 20 varieties. The Slim Jim itself has been transformed in the years since Adolph Levis invented it in 1928. He later sold the company in 1967 for about 20 million dollars to General Mills who moved the operations to Raleigh, N.C., and merged them into other meatpacking operations that it renamed Goodmark Foods. It sold Goodmark in 1982 to a group led by Ron Doggett. ConAgra, the food conglomerate based in Omaha, bought Goodmark in 1998.
The product Levis created is different from the one known today. Lon Adams developed the current Slim Jim recipe while working for Goodmark. Slim Jim is one of the most well-known examples of a food product which is listed as containing mechanically separated chicken in its ingredients, as required by the USDA
.
Production was interrupted after an explosion and fire on June 9, 2009 destroyed the packaging operations of the formerly-sole Garner, North Carolina manufacturing facility, but has since resumed there and in Troy, Ohio.
On May 20, 2011 the facility in Garner, NC closed, the same day that former spokesman "Macho Man" Randy Savage
died.
, who served as spokesman
. Each commercial would close with Savage bellowing "NEED A LITTLE EXCITEMENT? SNAP INTO A SLIM JIM!" Other notable spokesmen 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.
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 Housemother, 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.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. More than 500 million are produced annually in at least 20 varieties. The Slim Jim itself has been transformed in the years since Adolph Levis invented it in 1928. He later sold the company in 1967 for about 20 million dollars to General Mills who moved the operations to Raleigh, N.C., and merged them into other meatpacking operations that it renamed Goodmark Foods. It sold Goodmark in 1982 to a group led by Ron Doggett. ConAgra, the food conglomerate based in Omaha, bought Goodmark in 1998.
The product Levis created is different from the one known today. Lon Adams developed the current Slim Jim recipe while working for Goodmark. Slim Jim is one of the most well-known examples of a food product which is listed as containing mechanically separated chicken in its ingredients, as required by the USDA
United States Department of Agriculture
The United States Department of Agriculture is the United States federal executive department responsible for developing and executing U.S. federal government policy on farming, agriculture, and food...
.
Production was interrupted after an explosion and fire on June 9, 2009 destroyed the packaging operations of the formerly-sole Garner, North Carolina manufacturing facility, but has since resumed there and in Troy, Ohio.
On May 20, 2011 the facility in Garner, NC closed, the same day that former spokesman "Macho Man" Randy Savage
Randy Savage
Randall Mario Poffo , better known by his ring name "Macho Man" Randy Savage, was an American professional wrestler, best known for his time with the World Wrestling Federation and World Championship Wrestling .Savage held twenty championships during his professional wrestling career and was a...
died.
Advertising campaigns
Until the late 1990s, advertising for the product included commercials that featured late professional wrestler "Macho Man" Randy SavageRandy Savage
Randall Mario Poffo , better known by his ring name "Macho Man" Randy Savage, was an American professional wrestler, best known for his time with the World Wrestling Federation and World Championship Wrestling .Savage held twenty championships during his professional wrestling career and was a...
, who served as spokesman
Spokesman
A spokesperson or spokesman or spokeswoman is someone engaged or elected to speak on behalf of others.In the present media-sensitive world, many organizations are increasingly likely to employ professionals who have received formal training in journalism, communications, public relations and...
. Each commercial would close with Savage bellowing "NEED A LITTLE EXCITEMENT? SNAP INTO A SLIM JIM!" Other notable spokesmen have included The Ultimate Warrior
Warrior (wrestler)
Also see Warrior .Warrior is an American retired professional wrestler who notably performed under the ring names The Ultimate Warrior and Warrior...
, Bam Bam Bigelow, Kevin Nash
Kevin Nash
Kevin Scott Nash is an American professional wrestler and actor. As of 2011, Nash is signed to a five year contract with WWE under their WWE Legends program and appears as part of their Raw brand roster...
, Vanilla Ice
Vanilla Ice
Robert Matthew Van Winkle , best known by his stage name Vanilla Ice, is an American rapper, extreme athlete and home improvement television personality...
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
Sam Kinison
Samuel Burl "Sam" Kinison was an American stand-up comedian and actor. Kinison was known for his intense, harsh and politically incorrect genre humor...
, but he declined. Hal Rosen then suggested using WWF wrestlers, and The Ultimate Warrior was selected for the kickoff spot.
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 Housemother, 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
Deer
Deer are the ruminant mammals forming the family Cervidae. Species in the Cervidae family include white-tailed deer, elk, moose, red deer, reindeer, fallow deer, roe deer and chital. Male deer of all species and female reindeer grow and shed new antlers each year...
-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
Machinima
Machinima is the use of real-time 3D computer graphics rendering engines to create a cinematic production. Most often, video games are used to generate the computer animation...
artist to develop a World of Warcraft
World of Warcraft
World of Warcraft is a massively multiplayer online role-playing game by Blizzard Entertainment. It is the fourth released game set in the fantasy Warcraft universe, which was first introduced by Warcraft: Orcs & Humans in 1994...
parody
Parody
A parody , in current usage, is an imitative work created to mock, comment on, or trivialise an original work, its subject, author, style, or some other target, by means of humorous, satiric or ironic imitation...
.
Slim Jim sponsored Bobby Labonte
Bobby Labonte
Robert Alan "Bobby" Labonte is an American race car driver in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series. He currently drives the #47 Kroger/Clorox/Kimberly-Clark/Kingsford/Reese Towpower Hitches Toyota Camry for JTG Daugherty Racing. He currently resides in Trinity, North Carolina. He is married to his wife...
and David Green
David Green (NASCAR)
David A. Green is a NASCAR driver. He won the Nationwide Series championship in 1994. His two younger brothers, Jeff and Mark have also competed in the NASCAR circuit...
when they won the NASCAR Busch Series championship in 1991
1991 in NASCAR Busch Series
The 1991 NASCAR Busch Series Season began February 16 and ended on October 27. Bobby Labonte of Labonte Motorsports won the championship.- Goody's 300 :The Goody's 300 was held February 16 at Daytona International Speedway...
and 1994
1994 in NASCAR Busch Series
The 1994 NASCAR Busch Series Season began February 19 and ended October 22. David Green of Labonte Motorsports won the championship.See also: 1994 in NASCAR-1994 Team chart:List of full-time teams at the start of 1994.- Goody's 300 :...
, respectively.
The current spokesperson is retired WWE
World Wrestling Entertainment
World Wrestling Entertainment, Inc. is an American publicly traded, privately controlled entertainment company dealing primarily in professional wrestling, with major revenue sources also coming from film, music, product licensing, and direct product sales...
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.
See also
- 2009 Slim Jim plant explosion
- PeperamiPeperamiPeperami is a pork sausage snack manufactured by Unilever in Germany and Britain. According to Unilever, it was first shipped to the UK by accident in a container which was supposed to be carrying pâté. The company decided to attempt to sell the shipment to the UK market under the brand name...