-
The Invention
The creation of Spam was made possible by Jay Hormel of Hormel Foods Corportation in 1927 to increase the sale of pork shoulder which wasn't a very popular cut of meat and also help housewives to spread their budget dollars https://i1.wp.com/www.defensemedianetwork.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/05/Spam1.jpg -
Where did the name come from?
Due to combination of cheaper competition and the Great Depression which caused sales to drop, Jay Hormel had to relaunch the product with glitzy marketing. So during a New Years Eve party, Jay held a name-the-product competition with a 100$ prize to the winner. So among the 65 guests he had, Kenneth Daigneau whom was the brother of Vice Pres. R.H Daigneau came up with the name SPAM and won. http://static.neatorama.com/images/2007-10/kenneth-daigneau.jpg -
Impact of WW2 on sales
Between the years of 1939 and 1942, the sale of Spam skyrocketed with a net sales of 120 million dollars. This is because Spam became incorporated with the language of the war with Uncle Sam becoming Uncle Spam. https://i.pinimg.com/736x/9c/37/8a/9c378ae4467f865eb3f7f9dc02c82c9e--vintage-advertisements-vintage-ads.jpg -
Political figures commenting about Spam
Future British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher who was a teenager working in her parent's grocery store at the time commented on Spam by saying the food was a "wartime delicacy". Also, Soviet leader Nikita Krushchev said in his autobiography that, "Without Spam, we wouldn't have been able to feed our army". https://www.biography.com/.image/c_fill%2Ccs_srgb%2Cg_face%2Ch_170%2Cq_80%2Cw_300/MTQ1MjUwOTQzMzIyMDM5Nzc3/margaret-thatcher---the-iron-lady.jpg -
Spam in the war
Spam became crucial as a ration item for military forces in battle many were starving and sources of fresh meat around at the time was scarce. By 1944, 90 percent of all Hormel canned goods were going to military forces or military aid programs. https://www.skylighters.org/encyclopedia/spam.html -
The Hormel Girls
In the US in the aftermath of WW2, a group of former servicewomen was assembled by Hormel to promote Spam. The group was known as the Hormel Girls and associated the food with being patriotic. In 1948, two years after its formation, the troupe had grown to 60 women with 16 forming an orchestra. The show went on to become a radio program where the main selling point was Spam. https://img.apmcdn.org/7b07a0a979e1d75ece33d220606f11ec86b982ae/uncropped/3a1791-20071119-caravan.jpg -
Spam's Evolution
As American GIs returned from the war, they were tired of eating Spam as the main source of protien on the plate. It shifted from being a source of cheap foods to a side dish that you would sometimes eat. Eventually, Spam became advertised as more of an ingredient with eggs or within a sandwich. https://www.eater.com/2014/7/9/6191681/a-brief-history-of-spam-an-american-meat-icon -
"Spamming"
In the 1970s there was a three and a half minute sketch created by British comedy group Monty Python about Spam in every part of a restaurant's menu. The skit, repeatedly used the word Spam continuously. The phenomenon, some years later, of marketers drowning out email with junk mail advertising messages was named 'spamming' due to some early internet users that flooded forums with the word spam. http://www.technologizer.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/05/montypythonspam.jpg?w=300 -
Cooking competitions such as Spamarama
An event that was held between 1976 and 2007 in Austin, Texas to celebrate Spam was Spamarama. It was usually held close to Aprils Fools' Day and it drew people to one of the oddest and wackiest festivals in America. During the food competition, competitors had to create dishes incorporating Spam such as Spam ice cream, Moo Goo Gai Spam, GuacaSPAMole, and chicken-fried Spam. https://pbs.twimg.com/media/CvUfrTRXYAAFWQZ.jpg -
Spam's Popularity in Hawaii
Spam's popularity in Hawaii became to be due to that during World War 2, many shipments of Spam were being sent to the soldiers on the island to feed and after they left, Spam stayed. Over time, generations on the islands grew up with Spam and created many various versions of the dish. https://c1.staticflickr.com/5/4133/4965501777_80de87d540_b.jpg
