Seahawks star Frank Clark’s turkey burger preference

An endorsement from a standout professional football player would be welcomed by nearly any turkey company.

Roy Graber Headshot
LunaSea, Bigstock
LunaSea, Bigstock

An endorsement from a standout professional football player would be welcomed by nearly any turkey company.

Jennie-O Turkey Store recently received one from Seattle Seahawks defensive end Frank Clark, while at the same time, in a tongue-in-cheek manner, Clark voiced his disapproval of Butterball turkey burgers.

Clark recently overcame a bout with food poisoning, which he apparently was stricken with after eating a Butterball burger or two that was not thoroughly cooked. But even though the illness was very unpleasant, he had a good sense of humor about it.

“Don’t eat turkey burgers by Butterball,” Clark jokingly told the Seattle Times. “It’s not a good brand. I actually like Jennie-O. The Butterball ones are thicker so they take longer to cook through.”

Public service announcement potential

Food safety, though, is a serious matter. And even though he identified one brand of turkey burger that he ate before becoming ill, I hope this doesn’t poorly affect sales of Butterball turkey products.

If I were a marketing executive with Jennie-O Turkey Store, I would under any other circumstance jump at the chance to promote the products as the favorite of Seahawk Frank Clark. But to do so after what happened would be distasteful.

After all, it could have happened with any company’s ground turkey if not cooked properly.

But rather than being a marketing opportunity, maybe this can be a public education opportunity.

I can see it now. There’s a video of Clark in his kitchen, wearing a Seahawks jersey, with a skillet full of turkey burgers. A few teammates are gathered around, impatiently wondering when the delicious food will be ready.

He then explains to them that like with all meats, turkey must be properly cooked to assure it is safe and nutritious to eat.

Then, with the lesson learned, they all chow down on the tasty turkey burgers and go on to pound their opponents on the field.

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