The Oscar Mayer Wienermobile made a surprise visit in town and I just happened upon it while out running errands. Of course, I stopped! Nearly every car around me pulled into the parking lot and began taking photos. The crowd at the Wienermobile was half adults who came for the nostalgia and half was the kids of those adults. It’s a brilliant way to build product awareness and break through all the other marketing noise.
“Hotdoggers” (as the drivers are called) handed out baseball-type cards with their picture and favorite hotdog topping information, stickers, coupons, and, of course, the beloved Wieinerwhistles.
My favorite part was when the loud speaker system in the vehicle started playing just a few bars of the famous jingle – Oh, I’d love to be an Oscar Mayer Wiener… and, in unison, the crowd sang all the words. The company has not used it in ads since 2010 but its legacy lives on.
The Wienermobile has adapted by adding Hotdogger cards, creating Instagram handles for each Hotdogger, and providing stickers but the experience is essentially the same as it was when it began in 1968. There are times when it is prudent to modernize or create new a new image, and there are other times when consistency and nostalgia win the day. The next time you’re tempted to start anew, remember the Wienermobile and consider what you’d truly like to be.
