Oscar Mayer is tapping into—and lightly poking fun at—the blockchain craze by giving away “Bacoin,” a virtual cryptocurrency that can be exchanged for real bacon.
From now until May 14, Oscar Mayer’s Bacoin promotion directs users to a microsite where they can register to participate. Visiting the site each day gives users another chance to win limited amounts of Bacoin in increments of BCNS (slices of bacon), which can be saved up and cashed in for real bacon. According to the site, 11 BCNS is equal to one Bacoin.
A graph on the site updates hourly to display the current value of Bacoin, which thus far has ranged anywhere from three slices to 42. Users can take an approach to Bacoin as casually or seriously as they like depending on how much time they want to spend.
Users can impact the “market value” of Bacoin by sharing the promotion on Twitter and email. Each user is limited to sharing three times on each platform per day but can do so to increase the value of their virtual investments. Once users are satisfied with the best time to cash out, they can trade their Bacoin for real bacon.
Oscar Mayer is promoting the campaign with a video that gently mocks the current technology market. The video depicts a self-important tech entrepreneur and “digital prophet” named Keith Sizzle, who takes credit for the idea of Bacoin while speculating other ideas like bacon conditioner.
The Kraft-owned deli food brand has ventured into technology before to promote its bacon, although it’s been a few years. In 2015, the company introduced Sizzl, a dating app for bacon lovers and in 2014, an iPhone alarm clock that released the sound and smell of bacon when activated.
This isn’t the first time Oscar Mayer used bacon as currency, either. In 2012, the brand partnered with comedian Josh Shankey for the “Great American Bacon Barter,” a promotion to see if he could purchase everything he needed on a coast-to-coast road trip using only bacon.
