Dorothy âDotâ Lyon, a diminutive Midwestern housewife with military-grade survival skills, substitutes buttermilk for water in her Bisquick biscuits, adding âlove and joyâ as additional ingredients.
The result is a fluffy carb so delicious and comforting that it staves off a revenge killing and tames an immortal Welsh-Scandinavian hitman. The dayâand the home-cooked family dinnerâis saved.
To those who didnât watch season five of Fargoâa cult favorite thriller on FX and Hulu that starred Juno Temple, Jon Hamm and Jennifer Jason Leighâthis might sound like gibberish. But to the faithful, itâs now part of the twisted lore of the Noah Hawley-created anthology that used Bisquick as a key plot point in the showâs recent finale.
Taking advantage of that unpaid placement, Bisquick and agency Pereira OâDell launched a Fargo-inspired campaign and limited-time product drop, aiming to superserve the loyalists and build buzz around the legacy Betty Crocker brand.
If you know, you know
Fewer than 100 boxes of Bisqickâlabeled âa very special recipeâ and decorated with Dotâs kitchen apron designâwent on sale early this week at a single supermarket in Scandia, Minn., Dotâs adopted hometown where the drama was set.
âThis may feel extremely niche, but thatâs because it is,â Jason Apaliski, executive creative director at Pereira OâDell, told ADWEEK. âTapping into that intense [audience] love, even if itâs because we got lucky, was an opportunity we couldnât miss. This collaboration is dedicated to the Fargo fandom.â
The stunt spawned a subreddit discussion, local news coverage and a near sellout on the first day. Social media extensions will give away some additional boxes to those who couldnât make it to the rural town with a population of less than 4,000, about 25 miles outside St. Paul.
