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.)