When the ad agency that created the quirky “Messin’ with Sasquatch” campaign for Jack Link’s Beef Jerky wanted a Northwoods feel for a Halloween feature on its interactive website, one of the creators recalled a book she had read to her daughter. The book? Antler, Bear, Canoe by Grand Marais artist Betsy Bowen.
The Jack Link’s representative found Bowen and asked: Could she help with the “Feed Your Wild Side” Sasquatch campaign? Would she be willing to put her block-printing skills to use to create a Sasquatch template for carving pumpkins? Could she create some jack-o-lanterns with the Jack Link’s logo—and Sasquatch’s face and famous footprints? Did she know a local photographer who could do a photo shoot of the pumpkins?
Bowen answered yes, yes, yes, and of course.
She recruited Noah Prinsen, who works with her at Betsy Bowen Studios, and Lucy Kreusel, a North House Folk School intern, and they set to work to carve about a dozen pumpkins. Asked if she had experience in pumpkin carving, Bowen laughed, “I can’t really say it’s a specialty.”
Prinsen, however, does have some pumpkin-carving history. Bowen said he once won a WTIP-sponsored pumpkin carving contest. Prinsen confirmed that he was the champion, although he added that at the time he was in high school and most of then competitors were under the age of 10. Despite that, Prinsen said, “Therefore I felt that it was appropriate to label myself ‘All-City Pumpkin Carving Champion for Life,’” adding tongue-in-cheek, “It’s one of those titles, much like being appointed to the Supreme Court, that you retain until you either die unexpectedly or choose to step down. It’s seasonal work really, I spend the rest of my year either brooding or living in the past.”
Bowen said it took a couple of weeks to carve about a dozen pumpkins. They carved a couple of standing Sasquatches, a growling face, a Northwoods scene, some big footprints, the Jack Link’s logo and the slogan “Messin’ with Sasquatch.”
Some they had to carve twice because the Jack Link’s representative who was to approve the carvings was not available before the pumpkin did what pumpkins do if they sit carved too long. But overall, it wasn’t too difficult, said Bowen.
And it wasn’t difficult to find a local photographer to do a photo shoot with pumpkins. Jack Link’s wanted someone who could do something somewhat spooky, but still approachable. Bowen immediately thought of Stephan Hoglund.
Hoglund was delighted to take on the job. He said they had ideas for about 15 different layouts, with combinations of Sasquatch pumpkins and logo pumpkins, in daylight and dark. The lighting was a challenge, said Hoglund. “I had a really short window of time with the light.”
And, of course the weather was a factor for the shoot, which was done on Maple Hill. How hard was it to keep the jack-olantern candles burning? Not too bad, said Hoglund, sharing the secret. “We had six or seven candles inside each one.”
“It was a little nerve-wracking,” said Hoglund. “But overall, it was some of the easiest and most fun ad work I’ve ever done.”
Were either of the artists familiar with the Jack Link’s Beef Jerky “Messin’ with Sasquatch” campaign? Hoglund said he wasn’t, but added, “Apparently I’m the only person in the United States who hadn’t seen it!”
After seeing the silly Sasquatch series, Hoglund said, “I think it’s fabulous. It’s campy and creepy—right up my alley.”
Bowen said she had seen the myriad Jack Link’s products at checkout counters and she liked the idea of healthier snacks for Halloween. “Something like that is always a little more monkey business than you think, but it all came together really well,” said Bowen.
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