ABC’s Jake Tapper investigated the history of the Presidential turkey pardon, a tradition that morphed from a gift by the Turkey lobby (National Turkey Federation) into an awkward and sometimes hilarious photo opp the day before Thanksgiving.  We wanted to know more about the bird itself and its image.

As it turns out, the head of the lobby gets choose the top tom, and a Veep if said bird cannot fulfill its duties from their own farm, as reward for service to the organization.  This year, Yubert Envia VP of turkey at Foster Farms took full advantage of the honor by not only selecting the lucky pair and ushering them to Washington, but by enjoying a four-month publicity tour complete with Secret Service agents on hand for security.

The campaign was cooked up by Fineman PR, the farm’s agency of record to tout the benefits of Foster’s committment to raising fresh, healthy foul and more widely, the important role California agriculture plays on the national stage according to Michael Fineman.  The Secret Service agents are really brand ambassadors in disguise, on hand to protect the message.

The resulting cornocopia includes the ABC piece mentioned above, the Associated Press, USA Today, San Francisco Chronicle, San Jose Mercury News, The Modesto Bee and this CBS News segment:

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