Kevin Hall, communications director for the Iowa Pork Producers Association, assisted with creating the renowned “Purchase Moore Hamann Bacon” promotion, and the campaign is still earning awards today.
The idea for the promotion surfaced in September 2023, when Iowa Pork Producers Association was searching for ways to encourage consumers to purchase more pork products.
“There were two Iowa State football players that were standing next to each other on the field during the first game,” Hall said. “A fan took a picture of Tommy Hamann and Caleb Bacon standing beside each other with their names on their jerseys. The fan tweeted the photo and tagged us in it, jokingly asking us to give these players an NIL deal.”
The post garnered a lot of attention and soon went viral. Hall was directed to the post, and he started looking for other names on the team that might flow with the campaign idea.
“We went through the roster and also found Miles Purchase and Tyler Moore,” Hall said. “So we combined all four last names to create ‘Purchase Moore Hamann Bacon’. Three weeks later, we did a photoshoot and tweeted about it.”
The campaign was instantly popular and received over 2 million views on X.
“By the end of the day, national news media ran with the story too,” Hall said. “We added a charity component to the promotion, donating $1,000 worth of pork to a food bank of their choice when we work with the football players. It was a great way for the association to give back to the community and promote pork nationally.”
The campaign won the 2023 NIL Deal of the Year Award from the Sports Business Journal, but it did not stop there.
“The campaign returned in 2024 with the four original players hosting ‘try outs’ for other college athletes who wanted to see how their names might fit into the promotion,” Hall said. “We also partnered with Hy-Vee grocery stores to post signage in their top 200 stores across the Midwest. We were able to see tangible results with pork sales increasing. Our producers were excited about the digital media aspect of the campaign, but they were ecstatic to see tangible results.”
The promotion recently won a Judge’s Choice and Silver Awards at the American Advertising Federation Awards and a regional NAMA award.
“The most rewarding part about working on this campaign was seeing the pork producers enjoy it,” Hall said. “They work so hard to produce Iowa pork, and it was fantastic to see the smiles on their faces.”
