Bacon: It’s what’s for dinner (and dessert)

Will bacon ever cool off as one of the hottest food and drink (yes, drink) ingredients on the market? It’s certainly riding a wave of popularity unlike any other in the pork product’s long and delicious history. It seems all a marketer needs to do to drum up some buzz these days is add massive amounts of bacon to an offering or use bacon in an unconventional way.

Burger King recently jumped on the bacon bandwagon with the launch of a bacon sundae (“cool, creamy and velvety vanilla soft serve, chocolate fudge and smooth caramel, made to order with our new thick hardwood smoked bacon”). The fan fare was short-lived, however, and BK dropped the concoction from its menu after a flurry of “this is why Americans are fat” critiques.

The ‘Merica Burger (above) from southern California burger chain Slater’s 50/50 is another recent example of bacon gone wild. Slater’s earned its 50/50 name years ago by offering a burger made from 50 percent ground beef and 50 percent ground bacon, and the restaurant upped the ante a few weeks ago with a burger made from 100 percent ground bacon.

But Slater’s doesn’t stop there. The burger also includes a slice of bacon cheddar cheese, their signature “bacon island” dressing, and is topped with a slice of thick-cut bacon (of course). Too much of a good thing? You tell us.

MARKETING LESSON: Looking for a bump in sales, or at least a bump in buzz? Add bacon!