Bacon-covered Vegas billboards explained
Vegas-area billboards featuring nothing but a gigantic piece of bacon — at times with a mustache or a top hat — were not the work of a hungry hacker, but rather are part of a marketing ploy.
The bacon billboards, which started getting attention in early August, have been spotted on multiple freeways and have been the subject of much debate on social media. Users of the restaurant review website Yelp theorized the billboards were meant to introduce a new bacon-themed bar.
Some users of the link-sharing website Reddit wondered whether the billboards were meant to celebrate International Bacon Day on Aug. 31.
Others suspected hackers in town in late July for the Black Hat Convention may have repurposed the billboards for their own use.
As photos of the bacon spread around Facebook and Twitter and the bacon remained in place for weeks, the idea of a marketing campaign seemed much more likely — and when the hashtag #baconcu appeared with the bacon, the cause of the bacon confusion was made clear.
A website launched by One Nevada Credit Union explains the bacon: It”;s meant to represent the account options available from the credit union.
The billboards were launched Aug. 1 and were later taken down, only to be replaced a few days later with the hashtagged bacon. It is not clear how long the bacon will stay.
Contact Stephanie Grimes at sgrimes@reviewjournal.com. Follow @steph_grimes on Twitter.
