On April 7, WWE star LA Knight made a pit stop before his WrestleMania 40 match against AJ Styles.
As he strutted to the ring, he embraced a woman sitting in the front row who had won a Slim Jim sweepstakes for tickets to the event. The camera then panned to a section of fans dressed in Slim Jim gear, dubbed the “Long Boi Gang,” a reference to the jerky company’s fan base.
It was the latest on-screen stunt in the relationship between WWE and Slim Jim, which dates back to the 1990s, when the late WWE star “Macho Man” Randy Savage served as the jerky company’s spokesperson and famously urged people to “Snap into a Slim Jim!” in a series of commercials that ran throughout the decade.
After a decades-long hiatus, though, the brands reconnected last summer, announcing a multi-year sponsorship deal that includes content with WWE performers, in-store events, and online sweepstakes.
“It was to bridge the history of our brand, which is pretty remarkable with Randy Savage and those iconic ads, with the present day, and WWE is such an iconic property and has so much relevancy now,” Lanie Friedman, senior director of content and communications for Conagra Brands, which sells and manufactures Slim Jim, said. “We’ve always seen that our community, even in the social space, references wrestling.”
Savage, a two-time WWE champion, was one of the most charismatic professional wrestlers of his era. That flamboyance translated to Slim Jim commercials: In one spot, Savage descends through the glass ceiling of a lighting store where a pair of teen employees are being teased by an older, surly boss, and gives them the opportunity to “light up” their lives by biting into the salty snack, triggering explosions around the store.
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In 2018, Slim Jim reached an agreement with Savage’s estate to use his name and likeness to promote its products, Amy Morgan, director of brand content and communication at Conagra, told us. Savage Sticks, a product born from that agreement, are three times the size of a Giant Slim Jim, and the packaging features Savage’s face.
Last August, the jerky company kicked off its larger partnership with WWE at the SummerSlam Battle Royal presented by Slim Jim.
Morgan said there’s a lot of overlap in Slim Jim and WWE’s brands that lends itself to a successful partnership.
“When you see how each brand shows up, it’s all about being very bold, in your face, and truly savage; that is how we have shown up since those iconic spots launched,” Morgan said. “Both really have this amazing entertainment value. And Slim Jim tries to show up in that way.”
Knight won the battle royal, and immediately after the match, his first spot with Slim Jim debuted on Peacock. Three-time WWE Women’s Champion Bianca Belair also stars in the campaign, which is interlaced with clips from Savage’s classic ’90s spots.
Morgan said that the two performers’ showmanship and personas were “incredibly beneficial” to the brand; the two have starred in several more Slim Jim spots over the past nine months.
“We’re incredibly thrilled to be back in the ring with the WWE, and I think there’s a lot more impact that we can have with them moving forward,” Morgan said.
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