Slim Jim (snack food)
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Slim Jim is a brand of dry meat snack manufactured by ConAgra Foods, Inc. They are popular in the United States, due in part to their unique texture, salty taste and unique marketing. More than 500 million are produced annually in at least 20 varieties. Slim Jims were originally manufactured by Goodmark Foods, Inc., before the company was acquired by ConAgra Foods in 1998. Lon Adams developed the Slim Jim recipe while working for Goodmark. Slim Jim is one of the most well-known examples of a food product which is listed as containing mechanically separated chicken in its ingredients, as required by the USDA.
Advertising for the product included commercials that featured wrestler "Macho Man" Randy Savage, who was the spokesperson until the late 1990s. Each commercial would close with Savage bellowing "SNAP INTO A SLIM JIM!" Other notable sponsors have included The Ultimate Warrior, Bam Bam Bigelow, Kevin Nash and Vanilla Ice.
Slim Jim advertisements were also heavily featured in Archie Comics.
Following the Randy Savage advertising campaign, ads featured a man in a giant Slim Jim costume, proclaiming "EAT ME!". This was followed by Savage's line for a short time.
Later advertisements featured a crass anti-guardian angel "Fairy Snapmother" encouraging teens to engage in dangerous stunts.
Current advertisements show people hunting a fictitious "Snapalope" within convenience stores using urban camouflage. The Snapalope is a deer-like puppet made from Slim Jims.
Slim Jim sponsored Bobby Labonte and David Green when they won the NASCAR Busch Series championship in 1991 and 1994, respectively.
