DaBears, day suck, but at DaTailgate you have DaBurger and all is right with the world.
Sports fans have been snatching up a delicious tasting pork burger at both the United Center and Soldier’s Field for some time now. That’s right, pork. Brought to them by the Illinois Pork Producers Association. It was an honest effort to get people to eat more pork and the offspring of a national marketing campaign nobody heard of “Pork, the other white meat.”
The fact the sandwiches were delicious goes without saying; people won’t pay sporting event prices for food which tastes or chews like plywood. Out of towners and locals alike kept asking “where they could get it” so they could cook them at home. Thus, Illinois Pork Producers Association (IPPA) got their first serious lesson in marketing, DaBrand. Now that “it” has a name, DaBurger, the juggernaut is in full motion before all of the pieces are in place.
No matter what one believes or what team and sport one roots for, one has to admit: DaBulls, DaBears, and DaHawks have DaFans. Right now DaBurger doesn’t have DaRetailer though. The only deals IPPA currently has in place are for the production and sale to these sporting venues.
The amount of money spent on advertising targeting the “tailgater” market is astounding. Every product from Busch’s Baked Beans to Velveeta is trying to shoulder its way into the shopping cart.
The IPPA isn’t a company, it’s an organization created to expound the virtues of pork and to create new markets for Illinois pork. They have been making these pork sandwiches in various forms since before I was old enough to drive. You could find them at every state and county fare. Unlike root beer, corn dogs, and cotton candy, the unnamed pork sandwich attended a few sporting events, got a name, and now is a regional sensation.
It is obvious to any outsider and to most current and former hog farmers I know that the IPPA is way out of its element here. They are very good at providing recipes and pork education both to teachers and the general public, but they don’t seem to be able to pull the pin on this and run. Then again, part of being special is “sometimes.”
When I was a child people waited for the A&W Drive in to open in the summer. Steamed hot dogs, frosted glass mugs and root beer which was made right there. You could only get it in the summer and that made it taste all the more special. Today A&W is some of the most God forsaken roller food I’ve been unfortunate enough to consume. Perhaps the smart play really is to keep this available only at Chicago sporting events?
