PETA Introduces Hamface, exposing the link between processed meat and cancer

2026 has been a “golden year” for horror films, spurring Pablo London to launch its first campaign for PETA -  a freak fest exposing the horrifying link between processed meat and cancer. 

Unlike better known threats like asbestos and tobacco, eating a ham sandwich doesn’t scream danger…yet bacon, ham and other processed meats contain Group 1 carcinogens and are linked to 34,000 cancer deaths globally every year.  That’s more than Chucky, Leatherface and Freddy Kruger combined.

Pretty scary stuff when you stop and think about it. So, to drive a radical reappraisal of these everyday foods, Pablo created a new horror villain: Hamface. The terrifying embodiment of processed meat. The hidden killer who you invite into your home, trust at your table and never suspect until it’s too late. 

Rather than spoofing the genre, Pablo set out to make a genuine creep show  in its own right. The campaign borrows the language of horror, including the slow-building dread and the familiar home turned sinister to tell a truly terrifying story built around a fact scarier than any on-screen killer we’ve seen before. 

The audience is left with a simple question -  is it time to think twice about who you’re inviting for dinner?

The film and its villain, Hamface, were brought to life by RIOT director duo Amy Fasey-Jones and Nathalie Gordon. Partnering with ArtClass, they injected the project with their signature energy and distinct creative vision.

“Hamface shows the horror behind something we’ve made far too ordinary,” says PETA’s Dawn Carr. “Bacon, ham, and sausages come with a cancer risk for us, and certain death for the sensitive pigs they’re made from. It’s time to take the horror off our plates.”

Dan Watts, CCO, at Pablo says:  "This project has made me quite relieved that I don't spend my days stuffing my face with ham. It has also reminded me why I love stuffing my eyeballs with horror films. PETA and the team have done a great job at bringing the hidden terrors of processed meat to life with this work. To quote my teenage daughter,  it makes you go "WHAT THE F***K IS THAT? IT’S RANK". Job done."

Credits

Client - PETA

VP of Vegan Corporate Projects: Dawn Carr

Lead Creative Agency - Pablo London

Chief Creative Officer: Dan Watts

Creative Director: Matt Fitch

Creative: David Carr

Strategy Director: Emma Stafford

Senior Planner: Eliza Millett

Account Director: Amie Goldstein

Producer: Eva McAlpine

Business Affairs: Amanda Levett

Designer: James Lunn

Creative Artworker: Viren Patel 

ARTCLASS CONTENT UK 

Directors: RIOT – Nathalie Vincent & Amy Fasey

Ex. Producer: Sam Holmes

Producer: Xiaoxuan Zhu

Head of New Business: Emma Horgan

Production Manager: Rachel Travers

Production Assistant: Marlon Blakeley

Production Assistant: Jake Adler

Location Manager: Jordan Michael

1st AD: Billy French

2nd AD: Miles Bruce Jones

Director of Photography: Jake Gabbay

1st AC: James Hill

2nd AC: Sandra Pennington

Camera Trainee: Connor Sweetman

Grip: Darren Quinn

Grip Trainee: Trevino Williams

Gaffer: Jovan Lawrence

Spark: Danny Golds

Spark: John Joe Besagni

Lighting Trainee: Dylan Andrew

Sound Recordist: Alex Langner

Boom Operator: Max Riches

Medic: Nissi Adeduntan

CASTING

Casting Director: Emma Garrett at Garrett Casting

CAST

Ham Face: Nick Kellington

Dad: Christopher Ashman

Mum: Kate-Lois Elliot

Child: Elena Berebecka

Baby: Huxley Vincent 

Chaperone: Marta Florczyk

Chaperone: Tim Vincent

ART

Production Designer: Furmaan Ahmed

Set Dresser: Isabella Furness

Props Assistant: Claudia Rose

Props Assistant: Luba Kuziw

WARDROBE

Costume Designer: Georgia Herman

Wardrobe Assistant: Aisling McGuinness

PUPPETRY AND SPECIAL EFFECTS

Puppeteer: Hugh Purves

Millennium FX: Kate Walshe

Millennium FX Supervisor: Sharna Rothwell

HAIR AND MAKE UP

Hair & Make Up: Sophia Davison

HMU Assistant: Hebe Wallace

STILLS PHOTOGRAPHY

Stills Photographer: Sasha Mack

OFFLINE: SHIFT 

  Offline Editor: Rachael Spann
  Assistant Editor: Stanley Whitaker
  Producer: Kirsty Oldfield  

ONLINE & VFX: RASCAL

VFX Supervisor & 2D Lead: Alfie Vaughan 

Senior Producers Evelyn O’Reilly & Ellie Thwaites

Production Assistant: Noemi Seminara

GRADE: ETHOS

Colourist: Dante Pasquinelli

Producer: Nat Tereshchenko
Color assist: Will Reininga
Head of Production: Sasha Pace

MD/EP: Eliana Carranza-Pitcher 

Founder/EP: James Drew

 SOUND: 750

 Sound Designer: Giselle Hall
Producer: Olivia Ray

MUSIC HOUSE: THE HOGAN

 Music supervisors: Isa Rehman, Alicia Steanson