Spam-maker Hormel Spends to Reclaim Name

An anonymous reader writes "Hormel, the company behind Spam (the meat product, not the unsolicited email), is launching an advertising campaign in Europe in an attempt to remind people it has been around a lot longer than offers of generic Viagra and fake Rolex watches. The BBC claims it will cost Hormel £2m."

Spamtastic

[Anonymous Coward]

I for one welcome our new spiced ham overlords!

Heh.

[Black Parrot]

Ads for Spam... go figure.

Brings new meaning to

[jaguar5150]

MORE SPAM PLEASE!!!

Advertising campaign?

[micromoog]

I don't suppose they're getting the word out via a "direct email" campaign . . .

Advertising eh?

[The-Bus]

Perhaps in addition to their TV advertising, they could use other means? I know the internet is a really powerful place. Perhaps by individually contacting Europeans they are able to put their name to good use again. But we need to make sure all Europeans are contacted. I suggest Hormel engages in a direct electronic mail campaign to contact every European. To make sure the message is understood, I suggest the use of ALL CAPITALS.

That is all.

In other news

[aussie_a]

most people outside of America don't like spam (of either variety). I want babette before I want the tinned spam.

Bloody Vikings!!

[da3dAlus]

Hormel says "It's a Meat!"
Maybe they should have a contest to name what animal it came from?

spam spam spam

[fracai]

Maybe they'll just play Monty Python a bit more on the BBC

Just drop the product line!

[YetAnotherName]

I can't imagine anything more vile than the so-called potted meat product that is Spam. It's the multiplicative zero element of food: you add Spam to any other dish and the whole thing tastes like Spam (as opposed to the multiplicative identity element of food, tofu, which when added to any dish takes on the flavor of the whole dish).

Given that even before Spam took on the unwelcome meaning of unsolicited commercial email that it was more a war-time inexpensive way to get protein into the diet, and that even in such dire times it tasted awful, wouldn't it make sense for Hormel to just drop that product line altogether?

I realize some Hawaiians might be upset, some fan websites would be put out, but think of the money they'd make selling rare cans of Spam on eBay.

Re:Thought this might make it to /.

[webgit]

Yeah, I keep getting error 503 as well. Maybe slashdot has been slashdotted, I mean it was linked to from slashdot in this post [slashdot.org]!

Here's an idea Hormel

[Anonymous Coward]

Find the names and addresses of spammers around the world, then deliver tons of tinned meat product to their doorstep - and film the results.

Put ads out with the reactions of the spammers when they get their spam back, but in the original form. Slogan could be something like "They spammed us, we SPAMMED them".

well,

[brarrr]

I sure hope I don't get any emails about this.

A song would be nice though.

I'm a lumberjack

[Anonymous Coward]

Sorry for this, but what must be done must be done.

Man: You sit here, dear.
Wife: All right.
Man: Morning!
Waitress: Morning!
Man: Well, what've you got?
Waitress: Well, there's egg and bacon; egg sausage and bacon; egg and spam; egg bacon and spam; egg bacon sausage and spam; spam bacon sausage and spam; spam egg spam spam bacon and spam; spam sausage spam spam bacon spam tomato and spam;
Vikings: Spam spam spam spam...
Waitress: ...spam spam spam egg and spam; spam spam spam spam spam spam baked beans spam spam spam...
Vikings: Spam! Lovely spam! Lovely spam!
Waitress: ...or Lobster Thermidor a Crevette with a mornay sauce served in a Provencale manner with shallots and aubergines garnished with truffle pate, brandy and with a fried egg on top and spam.
Wife: Have you got anything without spam?
Waitress: Well, there's spam egg sausage and spam, that's not got much spam in it.
Wife: I don't want ANY spam!
Man: Why can't she have egg bacon spam and sausage?
Wife: THAT'S got spam in it!
Man: Hasn't got as much spam in it as spam egg sausage and spam, has it?
Vikings: Spam spam spam spam... (Crescendo through next few lines...)
Wife: Could you do the egg bacon spam and sausage without the spam then?
Waitress: Urgghh!
Wife: What do you mean 'Urgghh'? I don't like spam!
Vikings: Lovely spam! Wonderful spam!
Waitress: Shut up!
Vikings: Lovely spam! Wonderful spam!
Waitress: Shut up! (Vikings stop) Bloody Vikings! You can't have egg bacon spam and sausage without the spam.
Wife: I don't like spam!
Man: Sshh, dear, don't cause a fuss. I'll have your spam. I love it. I'm having spam spam spam spam spam spam spam beaked beans spam spam spam and spam!
Vikings: Spam spam spam spam. Lovely spam! Wonderful spam!
Waitress: Shut up!! Baked beans are off.
Man: Well could I have her spam instead of the baked beans then?
Waitress: You mean spam spam spam spam spam spam... (but it is too late and the Vikings drown her words)
Vikings: (Singing elaborately...) Spam spam spam spam. Lovely spam! Wonderful spam! Spam spa-a-a-a-a-am spam spa-a-a-a-a-am spam. Lovely spam! Lovely spam! Lovely spam! Lovely spam! Lovely spam! Spam spam spam spam

good quote

[rhesuspieces00]

i dont know if its still there, but this is a good quote i came across on the spam.com website:

"Ultimately, we are trying to avoid the day when the consuming public asks, "Why would Hormel Foods name its product after junk e-mail?"
-Hormel Foods

http://www.spam.com/ci/ci_in.htm

my recipie

[morcheeba]

I take the spam and dice it up in to 1cm cubes. Then I take a cube and slice it as thin as possible. Lay it in the center of a big hamburger bun, and top with lettuce, tomatoes, 1/2 lb barbecued ground beef, onions, and ketchup.

Makes a great sandwich -- just don't eat the middle.

Unpleasant mental images

[pjt33]

That depends. Do you find burly men in Viking helmets attractive?

Re:Bloody Vikings!!

[Anonymous Coward]

Maybe they should have a contest to name what animal it came from?

Everyone knows it comes from the Spamalope.

Although, I much prefer a nice leg of Gyrobeast roasting on a spit, as found at most Mediterranean restaurants...

Re:Heh.

[Ziak]

The real question is will they spam us about spam being diffrent then spam?

Re:In Soviet Russia...

[colinwb]

In World War 2 tins of Spam were sent to the Soviet Union to assist their war effort (as food, in case anyone wonders), and were known as 'second fronts'.

Cue Soviet joke from about 1943:
Q. What is an 'old believer'?
A. Someone who still believes in a second front.
(The Soviet Union was trying very hard to persuade the other Allies to open a land based second front to relieve the pressure.)

There's a very good book, 'Russia's War' by Richard Overy, which is even better than Stalingrad by Anthony Beevors.

On spam (as opposed to Spam), I've wondered for some time why we don't just call it 'ejunk', sent by 'eejots' (an attempt to reproduce the rather attractive Irish pronounciation of 'idiots').

Re:Bloody Vikings!!

[da3dAlus]

Squishy Pink Artificial Meat is what I've always been told :)

Re:Bloody Vikings!!

[notjonny]

I always thought it came from an amimal called the Nauga..... The one they get naugahyde from...

Re:What's SPAM taste like?

[plover]

Tastes just like chicken.

No, wait, that's chicken.

SPAM tastes like ham jello, only with a firmer texture.