Sooner or later, everyone's sausage needs some support.
If you find yourself in such straits between now and this Friday—say, from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. Central time—go ahead and call Johnsonville HQ at (844) 9-SAUSAGE. Company employees will be serving up all manner of advice on pork-pipes and cow-casings as part of the marketer's "Sausage Support Center."
Live! Unscripted! Sausage talk! That number again: (844) 9-SAUSAGE.
This trailer dishes on the initiative:
As you might recall, previous phases of the "Made the Johnsonville Way" campaign had company staffers dream up Carl the Great Bratsgiver and appear in wacky commercials they helped create. Why launch a Support Center this time around?
"We've all been there—standing in a grocery store or kitchen, wishing someone would just tell us what to make for dinner," says Kevin Weir, associate creative director at Johnsonville ad agency Droga5. "So we thought, 'Who better to be that person than some certified sausage experts in Sheboygan Falls, Wisconsin?' Now, they're just a phone call away."
So, who could you wind up grilling for recipes and cooking tips? Well, company chairman and founder Ralph Stayer Jr. will be among the 30 or so folks on hand. Or you might get Bob, who stars in the clip below. Once, on a bet, he wrestled a bear at a county fair:
Based on that beast-fight reenactment, we're guessing Bob lost. "I was off camera pretending to be the bear," recalls Droga5 associate creative director Chris Colliton. "When Bob charged at me full speed, it was terrifying." (Hey, if you think advertising is a grind, try making sausage for a living!)
Also at the Support Center, Sheri is available to chat about spicy baked beans (and quilts):
And Mark's got the 411 on breakfast quesadillas. But don't dial 411. That number again: (844) 9-SAUSAGE:
Then there's Tammy. She's really into … sigh … sausages, what else?
Those Johnsonville sausage sages even dropped some beefy beats for Pandora and the brand's social sites:
Juicy jingles, meat masters! (Don't quit your day jobs.)
CREDITS
Agency: Droga5
Creative Chairman: David Droga
Chief Creative Officer: Ted Royer
Group Creative Director: Scott Bell
Associate Creative Directors: Chris Colliton, Kevin Weir
Junior Copywriter: Madeleine Trebenski
Junior Art Director: Brittain McNeel
Chief Creation Officer: Sally-Ann Dale
Executive Broadcast Producer: Scott Chinn
Associate Broadcast Producer: Isabella Lebovitz
Head of Interactive Production: Niklas Lindstrom
Executive Interactive Producer: Tasha Cronin
Associate Interactive Producer: Alyssa Cashman
Social Producer: Gabrielle Nicoletti
Technical Lead: Michael Mosley
Head of Art Production: Cliff Lewis
Head of Print Services: Rob Lugo
Senior Print Producer: Rick Gutierrez
Junior Print Producer: Abraham Nowels
Senior Retoucher: John Ciambriello
Global Chief Strategy Officer: Jonny Bauer
Group Strategy Director: Aaron Wiggan
Senior Strategist: Marc Iserlis
Group Communications Strategy Director: Brian Nguyen
Communications Strategist: Kevin Wilkerson
Data Strategy Director: Lily Ng
Group Account Director: Julia Albu
Account Director: Pat Rowley
Account Supervisor: Kate Tyler Monroe
Associate Account Manager: Camille Cheeks-Lomax
Project Manager: Rayna Lucier
Client: Johnsonville
Senior Group Marketing Director: Ryan Pociask
Integrated Marketing Director: Jamie Schmelzer
Creative Director, Brand Communications: Anthony Rammer
PR, Social Media Manager: Stephanie Dlugopolski
Shopper Marketing Manager: Stephanie Plehn
Brand Marketing: Kimberly Keller
Production Company: D5 Films
Directors: Chris Colliton, Brian Lannin
Director of Photography: Brian Lannin
Producer: Sara Vander Horn
Editorial: D5 Studios
Senior Editor: Matthew Badger
Postproduction: The Mill
Executive Producer: Andrew Hamill
Flame Artist: Brandon Danowski
Music: APM
Stompin' Down the Road: Nicolas Moreau (Sacem)
Smooth Groove (A): Laurence Cottle (PRS)
Sound: Sonic Union
Mixer: David Papa