A Monumental Achievement In U.S. Snacking History: Jack Link's® Unveils "Meat Rushmore" In New York City

NEW YORK, June 12, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- Raising America's love of snacking to epic proportions, Jack Link's^® today commemorates the third annual National Jerky Day with its most monumental achievement ever: the creation of "Meat Rushmore," an awe-inspiring meat replica of South Dakota's famous Mount Rushmore National Memorial. The 13-foot tall, 17-foot wide structure is covered in more than 1,600 pounds of Jack Link's beef, pork and turkey jerky, weighing in at over 350,000 grams of lean protein, and is being showcased today in New York City's Columbus Circle. National Jerky Day is celebrated annually to commemorate Americans' love for snacking and their unadulterated desire to "Feed Their Wild Side."

Uniting four American "heads of state" together in jerky – George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Theodore Roosevelt and Abraham Lincoln – the 1,400 cubic foot Meat Rushmore jerky sculpture will stand tall in Columbus Circle from sunup to sunset, an opportunity for New Yorkers and tourists alike to pay homage to protein-packed snacking. Snack-lovers can also meet Jack Link's brand icon Sasquatch, enjoy free jerky samples and enter contests to win a year's supply of Jack Link's jerky. 

Enter the #MeatRushmore selfie contest or "Fifth Head" at Meat Rushmore sweepstakes
Meat monument visitors are invited to enter a contest for the best "selfie" taken at Meat Rushmore by sharing photos on Twitter and Instagram using #MeatRushmore and tagging @JackLinks. All contest details are at www.jacklinks.com/jerkyday.

Fans throughout the country can also visit JackLinks.com to insert a picture of themselves as the "fifth head" on Meat Rushmore. All sweepstakes details are at www.jacklinks.com/jerkyday.

"Meat Rushmore is our most monumental undertaking yet and a fitting tribute to the all-American love of jerky as the 'ultimeat' snack,'" said Kevin Papacek, director of marketing, Jack Link's Beef Jerky. "Thanks to snackers feeding their wild side throughout this great nation, Jack Link's is the No. 1 brand of meat snacks in America. Today, we invite everyone in the land to stand face-to-face with Meat Rushmore, either in person or virtually, to celebrate National Jerky Day with us." 

A mountainous tribute: 350,000 grams of protein
Never before has the power of the presidency packed this much protein into one setting. The imposing sculptural tribute is made with 1,600 pounds of Jack Link's beef, pork and turkey jerky varieties, painstakingly applied piece-by-piece in a variety of flavors and colors to create a to-scale replica of its famous blasted-from-stone cousin in the Black Hills of South Dakota. Sized proportionally for display in the heart of New York City, Meat Rushmore features a whopping 350,000 grams of patriotic protein in one deliciously beautiful sculpture.

When it comes to snacking, it's hard to out-protein meat to keep Americans energized throughout the day. A 1-ounce serving of Jack Link's Original Beef Jerky, for example, is packed with 12 grams of natural protein, and has just 1 gram of fat and 80 calories. Conveniently packaged and requiring no refrigeration, it makes for a quick and satisfying take-along snack. Jack Link's jerky is available in flavors ranging from savory to sweet to spicy and everything in between, and is made from premium lean cuts of beef, turkey, chicken or pork to "Feed the Wild Side" of any snack lover.    

Epic moments in jerky history
Meat Rushmore is just the latest undertaking by Jack Link's to celebrate America's passion for meat snacks. Here are some other epic moments in jerky history:

• June 12, 2012: Jerky receives its very own holiday with the declaration of the first annual National Jerky Day. To celebrate, Sasquatch, star of Jack Link's award-winning "Messin' With Sasquatch" advertising campaign, is the first to have his likeness preserved in a work of art using jerky as a medium. A larger-than-life portrait of Sasquatch, created with thousands of pieces of jerky by meat artist Jason Mecier, is showcased at Mall of America in Minneapolis, Minnesota.
• August 22, 2012: Just in time for the two major political parties' national conventions, two more meat portraits of "Barack Obameat" and "Meat Romney" are created out of Jack Link's jerky. Each portrait takes 50 hours to complete using 50 bags of jerky. Americans are then invited to vote for their favorite "meathead": Sasquatch, Meat Romney or Barack Obameat. Sasquatch wins in a landslide. 
• June 12, 2013: Operation Sky Meat delivers "snack and awe" on National Jerky Day as 1,000 bags of jerky shower from a helicopter in mini-parachutes over the Great Plains of Nebraska at Omaha Champions Village, home to a national amateur baseball league tournament. More than 10,000 additional jerky samples are distributed to snack fans during the event. 

For more information visit www.jacklinks.com.

JACK LINK'S BEEF JERKY – Feed Your Wild Side™
Headquartered in Minong, Wis., Jack Link's is the leader in the meat snack category and fastest-growing meat snack manufacturer worldwide. The Jack Link's brand represents a heritage of quality and consumer trust. Well known for its iconic Messin' With Sasquatch™ advertising campaign, Jack Link's offers more than 100 premium meat snack products at retail outlets in more than 40 countries. Check out JackLinks.com for more information on the brand. 

Video - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xLT0Zw7YKYo 
Photo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20140612/117369

SOURCE Jack Link's Beef Jerky