JACK LINK’S WARNS SNACK LOVERS TO ‘BEWARE THE WILD’ IN NEW CAMPAIGN

Jack Link’s has launched a new campaign under its “Feed Your Wild Side” platform, humorously warning consumers that its beef jerky is so irresistible it might attract wild animals. Created by Special in Sydney, the work dramatises apex predators’ obsession with the snack while assuring audiences that no animals were harmed.

Jack Link’s is leaning into humour and hyperbole with a new advertising campaign that suggests its famously bold beef jerky may be so irresistible it could attract the attention of the wild’s fiercest predators. Developed by the Sydney office of Special, the latest creative work builds on the brand’s long-running “Feed Your Wild Side” platform with an exaggerated warning to consumers across the country: if you are carrying Jack Link’s, beware.

The campaign imagines a world in which apex predators are willing to go to extreme lengths to get their paws, claws or teeth on the brand’s 100% grass-fed beef jerky. In the spot, the mere presence of the snack becomes an open invitation for wildlife to launch daring attempts to claim a bite, turning an ordinary moment into a chaotic encounter with the animal kingdom.

The work was spearheaded by Joe Ranallo, creative director at Special in Sydney, alongside Will Winter-Irving and the agency team. In a tongue-in-cheek aside surrounding the production, Ranallo joked that he was “gravely wounded fighting the bear” in order to lend his distinctive voice to the ad’s closing narration. The self-deprecating story underscores the playful tone that has long characterised Jack Link’s marketing.

Visually, the campaign leans heavily into realism, presenting a bear that appears strikingly lifelike on screen as it pursues the coveted jerky. The effect is designed to amplify the absurd premise by grounding it in believable imagery. Despite the convincing portrayal, the production team was keen to emphasise that no animals were harmed during filming, with the bear created through carefully controlled production techniques.

The narrative builds on the brand’s established positioning that frames Jack Link’s snacks as primal, protein-packed fuel capable of unleashing a consumer’s “wild side”. Since the platform’s introduction, the brand has often used outlandish scenarios involving wildlife to dramatise the irresistible appeal of its jerky products.

By pushing that idea further—suggesting that the snack might be irresistible not just to humans but also to the most powerful creatures in the wild—the new campaign continues the brand’s tradition of blending adventure, humour and exaggeration. The result is a deliberately over-the-top warning: when carrying Jack Link’s beef jerky, you might want to keep an eye on the treeline.