CAMPO

CAMPO, the Committee to Award Miss Piggy the Oscar, was a movement formed in 1979 by two Muppet fans in Cincinnati, James Hall and Bruce Collin.

The group's aim was to have Miss Piggy recognized as a Lead Actress, and nominated for an Academy Award for her work in The Muppet Movie.

The Muppet Show Fan Club newsletter (vol. 2, no. 1, 1979) reported: "There is now a group called Cadets for CAMPO at West Point, and similar groups in Canada and Australia. 'The response has been whole hog,' said James Hall.

"Meanwhile, Martin M. Cooper, a vice president of the Motion Picture Academy's public relations firm, was reported as saying, 'While the Academy does not participate in the pork-barrel campaigns which are an unfortunate part of the annual Oscar campaign, we do with you appropriate success with your commendable support of such a weighty candidate for academy honors.'

"When our reporter called on Miss Piggy earlier today, she was reluctant to comment on the CAMPO campaign. 'I feel,' she said, 'that in all modesty, and for reasons of professional integrity, I mustn't endorse or in any way encourage the activities of these discerning, intelligent, astute and enlightened people."

CAMPO was also mentioned in People Magazine's story on Miss Piggy (Sept. 3, 1979), which claimed that the group had collected 20,000 fan letters in support of the campaign.

Miss Piggy did not secure a nomination, but the movie was nominated for Best Original Score and Best Song (for The Rainbow Connection).