ONTARIO PORK
Ontario Pork represents over 1,000 provincial producers raising and marketing nearly 6 million hogs for the local food supply chain. The organization is invested in many areas, including research, government representation and advocacy, environmental issues, consumer education and food quality assurance.
Go Whole Hog | Public Trust Campaign & Website
A novel marketing strategy: tell the truth.
Increasing numbers of consumers are asking important questions about the provenance and practices that put local food on their plate. Livestock agriculture, in particular, has been the topic of much discussion and significant misinformation stemming from third-party assumptions derived from foreign operations and the sector’s hesitance to wade into the often-fiery debate to share their story.
Arable worked with the commodity group to design, produce and promote their bold public trust campaign, which turned on a simple strategy—tell the whole truth, with food at the centre of the conversation. The organization invited Ontario chefs with shared values of farm-to-table cuisine, animal care and food quality to tour local pork farms and ask direct questions on behalf of consumers and themselves.
The website content (gowholehog.ca) was produced by Arable in collaboration with the Ontario Pork team and featured members from across the local food community including pork farmers, veterinarians, transporters, butchers, retailers and more. The site showcases candid video and editorial interview profiles to address the big questions and share the participants’ pride and professional contributions to the provincial and international food supply.
The Whole Hog | Cookbook
A cookbook that tells the whole, unscripted story.
The Whole Hog: Recipes for those who love local food and yearn for everyday sustainability was the natural evolution of the Go Whole Hog public trust campaign (see above). Each of the campaign participants (and a good many more) were invited to share their favourite way to enjoy pork, supported by an original recipe, in their own words, peer-to-peer, consumer-to-consumer.
The passion project began as a small-run printing, but grew with demand. The hardcover, 200-page volume was designed, written and managed by Arable in collaboration with Ontario Pork and Chefs Emily Richards, Michael Hunter, Eva Chin, Chris Zielinski with contributions from backyard grillers, Ontario pork producers, butchers, retailers, detailing stories and contributions of the people behind the plate. The volume also included special sections on unique pork pairings, charcuterie board ideas and cooking, roasting and grilling tips for all pork cuts (primal and off-cuts) to encourage nose-to-tail, whole animal cuisine.
Go Whole Hog | Promo & Merch
There’s a reason for all those bacon memes…
The Go Whole Hog campaign tone and manner is honest, direct and knows how to have fun with its subject matter.
Arable created a line of promotional merchandise to surprise and delight consumers at community and education events and to thank campaign participants. The lineup included t-shirts, aprons and a custom pork dry rub.
