Latest news with #OscarMayer
Forbes
2 days ago
- Business
- Forbes
How Oscar Mayer Made Hot Dog History At Indianapolis Motor Speedway
If someone told you a group of marketing professionals sitting around brainstorming came up with a plan to race six 27-foot sausages on wheels around a racetrack during one of the most iconic weekends in American motorsports, you'd assume they were goofing off at Happy Hour with four empty pitchers on the table. You'd be wrong. That's exactly what happened—minus the pitchers—and this past Memorial Day weekend at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, one day before the Indianapolis 500, Oscar Mayer fired up its first-ever 'Wienie 500.' A fleet race of customized Wienermobiles that turned heads, hijacked social media, and quietly pulled off one of the sharpest brand activations of the year. Maybe ever. Yes. A hot dog race. On Carb Day. At the world's most famous racing venue. Because why the hell not? And while, from a distance, it might've looked like a joke, under the bun was a marketing plan grilled to perfection. This wasn't a throwaway gag—it was a calculated play to ignite brand love, hijack timelines, and hook a new generation of hot dog fans who didn't grow up on baloney jingles and Saturday afternoon sandwiches. 'This wasn't just a stunt,' said Kelsey Rice, brand director at Oscar Mayer. 'We have an iconic brand with a ton of equity, but we're also looking at how to connect with younger consumers—Gen Z and Millennials—who might not have that same connection.' In short, they took the joy of the Wienermobile and turned the dial to 11. There were six teams of 'hotdoggers' Oscar Mayer The results? Around 6 billion media impressions. 40 million social views. Over 16,000 direct mentions. It was the second-most talked-about hashtag on X (formerly Twitter) on race day—right behind the Indy 500 itself. That's not a stunt. That's ROI with a double squirt of mustard. Each Wienermobile was themed after a regional hot dog style—Chili Dog, New York Dog, Seattle Dog, Sonoran Dog, and more—with race suits and decals to match. And while top speed landed somewhere between 'parade float' and 'hoveround scooter,' the winner was still showered in mustard instead of Champagne on the podium like any self-respecting race car driver would be. Because branding. But the genius wasn't just the visuals—it was the feeling. This wasn't a one-day meme. It was joy, nostalgia, Americana, and absurdity all crammed into a fiberglass bun. It wasn't just viral. It was emotional. 'We knew we had something special when a million people tuned in to watch it live,' Rice said. 'But what really surprised us was how emotional people got. People were sharing memories, taking pictures, talking about what the brand meant to them. It felt like we brought back something that made Oscar Mayer really special.' And they did it on what marketers call a 'very minimal spend.' In the world of brand activations, this may have delivered more buns for the buck than anything this side of a Doritos Super Bowl ad. 'This is kind of like our Super Bowl,' said Rice. 'Summer is hot dog season, and we wanted to kick it off in a big way. We started brainstorming in January and landed on this idea of bringing our whole fleet to Indy for a first-ever race.' Pulling it off wasn't easy. The Wienermobiles aren't exactly spec cars. They're oversized rolling tributes to processed meat, and maneuvering six of them into the Speedway took more than a GPS and a prayer. 'They're 27 feet long,' Rice said. 'They're massive. Getting them into the Speedway, coordinating six vehicles, six teams, custom wraps, race suits... it was no small feat. The IndyCar team and IMS were incredible partners who helped us bring it to life.' The race was narrated by the same announcers who would call the Indy 500 the next day—except this time, they called the action entirely in hot dog puns. And no, those weren't scripted. 'What's so amazing is that's actually just the way we speak as a brand,' Rice said. 'If you were to meet a hot dogger outside of this event, that's just the personality, the tone of voice, the language of Oscar Meyer….we didn't, as a brand, spend a lot of time thinking about it for the announcers, all we gave them was basically a little 101, like 'here's how we talk at Oscar Mayer', and they took it and had so much fun. They ran with it.' Also unscripted? The race itself. 'It was legit,' Rice said. 'The teams practiced on the track the day before, just like the pros do. And it really came down to that photo finish. We weren't sure if it was going to be the Chicago Dog or the Slaw Dog.' Now comes the obvious question: could this kind of joy-fueled chaos work in NASCAR? 'The Speedway track is pretty similar to a standard NASCAR track,' Rice said. 'So I'm sure we could find a way to make the big dogs work. But there was something really electric about the energy at Indy. They've been amazing partners, and we'd love to do it again next year—hopefully even bigger.' That sound you hear? That's a dozen NASCAR PR teams frantically Googling 'Oscar Mayer partnerships.' At a time when brand engagement feels as authentic as the cheese in a gas station burrito, Oscar Mayer reminded us that joy is a currency. And sometimes, that currency comes shaped like a hot dog. The 'Wienie 500' might've looked like a gag. But it was business—strategic, measurable, and wildly successful. That's no small feat in a world drowning in content. And if nothing else, it reminded us of one simple truth: sometimes, the best way to win hearts, minds, and market share... is to race six giant hot dogs around the most sacred oval in motorsports. 'It was a really beautiful moment to bring that joy back,' Rice said. 'That's kind of what we feel like is our role as a brand—to just spark smiles and moments of happiness in people's lives. And this felt like a beautiful way to do that.'
Car and Driver
26-05-2025
- Automotive
- Car and Driver
Sold-Out 109th Indy 500 Treats Fans to the 'Greatest Spectacle in Racing'
For the hundreds of thousands of IndyCar fans who make the pilgrimage to Speedway, Indiana, on Memorial Day weekend, Sunday is Christmas in May. This weekend, we watched a rookie start from pole position for the first time since 1996, six Oscar Mayer Wienermobiles duke it out in a wiener-takes-all showdown at the inaugural Weenie 500, and three-time IndyCar champion Álex Palou sip ice-cold whole milk from a frosted bottle in Victory Lane. The 109th running of the Indianapolis 500 certainly lived up to the race's "Greatest Spectacle in Racing" nickname. Indianapolis Motor Speedway Álex Palou after winning the 109th running of the Indy 500. For something to be a spectacle, it has to have spectators, and the Indianapolis Motor Speedway (IMS) has plenty of room for fans. The race's 115-year-old venue is not only the oldest continually operated race track in the United States, but it's also the highest-capacity sports venue in the world, with over 257,000 permanent seats and room for an additional 100,000 fans to pack into its 253-acre infield. To put those numbers in perspective, the Brickyard could accommodate the entire population of Iceland with a bit of room left over. The applause from this year's crowd was particularly deafening, as the 500 drew one of the biggest crowds in recent memory. All quarter-million permanent seats were sold on the Friday before race weekend, and another 100,000 or so fans littered the infield. It is the first time that the event has sold out its grandstands since the 100th running of the race in 2016, making it a particularly massive year for fan turnout. Indy 500 Returns to a Sell-Out Crowd When asked why he thought this year's race attracted nearly record numbers, Michael Kaltenmark, IMS senior director of marketing, told Car and Driver that the sell-out was the result of multiple factors compounding over time. "It's a testament to the work that we've put in over the last several years to really position the Indy 500 as a bucket-list sporting event," said Kaltenmark. "The drivers have been a great promotional force, and I'd be remiss if I didn't mention our new broadcast partner, Fox, which has provided an amount of promotion that is unlike anything I've ever seen." "The goal was to keep 50 percent of the new faces we saw in 2016, and that's what the team did in 2017. Then we've tried to grow audience size by 10 percent in the years following, and other than during COVID, we've mostly hit our marks," he said. "The Indy 500 is epic, and it's unique, and we've really tried to get that point across to not just our core fan base, but also to those who have a more general interest in bucket list sporting events." While "epic" is certainly an accurate description of seeing 33 700-hp monsters fly around an oval at an average speed of nearly 170 mph, the Indy 500's uniqueness is arguably its main attraction. Many of its idiosyncrasies stem from nearly a century of tradition and history. Ever since Louis Meyer requested buttermilk as a thirst-quencher after his second Indy win in 1936, every subsequent winner—other than Emerson Fittipaldi in 1993, who opted for orange juice—has continued the tradition with their milk of choice. Forget champagne. Indianapolis Motor Speedway Louis Meyer, a three-time Indy 500 winner, waves to fans. Another unwavering tradition is the pre-race performance of "Back Home Again in Indiana," which has been a staple since opera singer James Melton silenced the crowd with his golden pipes in 1946. It's an especially important tradition for the local crowd, which Kaltenmark says makes up the vast majority of the Indy audience. "We attract ticket buyers from as many as 35 countries, but the majority of our ticket buyers come from central Indiana, the state of Indiana, and the surrounding states. It's largely a local audience," said Kaltenmark. Meet the Indy 500 Fans in the Stands Hometown support is so important to the race that there has been a nearly permanent local TV blackout in place since 1951, with the goal of enticing locals to come to the race instead of watching it from home. There have only been a handful of occasions since 1951 that the race has been broadcast live in Indianapolis, including the 100th race in 2016, during the COVID years when fan attendance wasn't possible, last year due to the rain delay, and this year thanks to the huge number of ticket sales. While locals had the option to watch the race on TV this weekend, it took less than a minute of walking the grandstands on the outside of turn one to find a native Hoosier who wouldn't dare miss the race in person. Edward Davis has been attending the race for over a half-century, originally by chance. "I've been going to qualifying since I was two years old, and I've been coming to the race itself since my mother won our tickets from a grocery store raffle in 1974," he said. Edward has been renewing his tickets ever since that stroke of luck, and he has no plan on stopping. "I'm fortunate to have been [to the Indy 500] so many times, and I'll keep coming back as long as the good lord lets me," he said. Austin Parsons | Car and Driver Edward Davis enjoys the 109th running of the Indy 500. Craig Price is another fan with generational Indy enthusiasm encoded into his DNA. He has had tickets on the front straight approaching turn one since the centennial race running in 2016, but his history with the Indy 500 stretches back to the years following World War II. "I grew up in Kansas, and my dad was a World War II pilot," said Craig. "In 1954, he learned that they broadcast the race on the armed forces' short-wave radio broadcast. Back then, the announcers would list the drivers running in the top 10 along with their speeds every 10 laps. So, every year for many years, dad would sit out back in a lawn chair and write down all of the 10-lap updates on sheets of paper." Craig isn't sure where the thick pile of lap charts is currently, but they'd make a wonderful heirloom for his daughter, who is a third-generation fan and has Indy tickets of her own. Austin Parsons | Car and Driver Craig Price attends the 109th running of the Indianapolis 500. The family aspect of the race also rings true for Larrian Gillespie, who brought her daughter to the Indy 500 for the first time in 2021. 'It was a great mother-daughter experience; I didn't even know that she liked racing until she showed up!' This time around, Larrian came with her friend, Andy, who had never been to the 500 but who had always dreamed of making the pilgrimage to the Brickyard from Myrtle Beach. 'It's always been one of my top bucket list items,' he explained. Austin Parsons | Car and Driver Larrian Gillespie and her friend Andy watch the 109th Indy 500 from the grandstands. After having a wonderful chat about Larrian's 1966 MGB Roadster and elevator encounter with Mario Andretti, she summed up the Indy experience perfectly: 'It's the best experience for anyone. It doesn't matter who you are or where you are from; the pageantry and the electricity are shared amongst everyone in the audience. The people here are so kind and passionate, and they are really what makes the whole event special." Austin Parsons Associate Editor Austin's car fixation began at a young age and at 1:64 scale. Eventually, Hot Wheels weren't cutting it anymore, so he developed an obsession with his father's full-sized 1965 Ford Mustang instead. Desperate to break into the automotive industry, he bartered his way into a job at a local BMW dealership by promising to stop hurling nerdy technical facts at the salesmen who came into the neighboring coffee shop where he worked. That was also around the time when he started writing automotive reviews, news articles, and technical guides for a number of local and international publications. Now at Car and Driver, Austin brings more than 10 years of experience in the automotive industry and an all-so-common love-hate relationship with German engineering to the table. Read full bio
Yahoo
25-05-2025
- Automotive
- Yahoo
The Wienie 500 at the Indy 500, explained
The Friday before the Indianapolis 500 will look a little different this year. Thanks to six hot dogs on wheels doing their best to rocket around Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Dubbed the Wienie 500, six Oscar Meyer Wienermobiles will make their racing debut at the iconic track on Friday's 'Carb Day,' in the inaugural Wienie 500. Advertisement Here is what you need to know. What is the Wienie 500? This year marks the first-ever Wienie 500, as all six Oscar Meyer Wienermobiles will race around the historic Indianapolis Motor Speedway. 'The Indy 500 marks the unofficial kickoff of summer and the start of hot dog season,' said Kelsey Rice, Brand Communications Director at Oscar Mayer in a press release earlier this week. 'As a brand known for sparking smiles in disarmingly delightful ways, it's only fitting that we bring a race of epic proportions to the Speedway and celebrate a timeless tradition: delicious meats and a little friendly competition to kick off a summer of wieners.' Advertisement The Wienermobiles put in some practice laps on Thursday ahead of the big event: We even have a hype video for the inaugural Wienie 500: What a time to be alive. What six Wienermobiles are participating? As noted there are six Wienermobiles in the Wienie 500, each one representing a different region of the United States. Starting in no particular order you have the Chi Dog (Midwest), the New York Dog (East), the Slaw Dog (Southeast), the Sonoran Dog (Southwest), the Chili Dog (South), and the Seattle Dog (Northwest). Why is this happening? Because it is fun. We like fun. Fun is good. Even the drivers themselves are excited. We're having fun out here. Advertisement Also, consider this from the announcement: 'From custom Hotdogger racing suits, to a trophy presentation in the 'Wiener's Circle', complete with a condiment spray and hot dog for the wiener's enjoyment, every moment of the race is designed to spark smiles, serving up a delightful racing event only Oscar Mayer can.' I mean, look at this trophy: We're absolutely going to see someone soaked in mustard, right? Besides, if the Duke's Mayo Bowl can be a big thing, so can this. What is 'Carb Day?' Now it is time for some Indianapolis 500 history. 'Carb Day' harkens back to a bygone era of the Indianapolis 500, referring to the final day the teams would tune the carburetors on their gasoline-powered cars. Carburetors have not been used for decades, but for an event filled with mystique and history, the name remains, even in today's hybrid-powered era of IndyCar. Advertisement Last year I spoke with Alexander Rossi, winner of the 2016 Indianapolis 500, about what happens on Carb Day. For the teams, the race engines go in the cars. For the drivers, you want to do as little as possible. 'Yeah, Friday is a very difficult session, because this will be the largest gap that there's been from cars being on track to cars not being on track. And so a lot of the reads and feelings that you get on Carb Day are kind of poor,' started Rossi last May. 'So it's very hard to not overreact to what you have on Carb Day. I've had a lot of Carb Days where I'm really unhappy and I just decide '[d]on't touch anything. The car's been good all month, it'll be fine on Sunday.' And sure enough it is. Advertisement 'So, the big thing for us on Friday is our race engine goes in. The car has been completely torn apart to kind of analyze everything and crack test everything. So it's really just a shakedown for the car [to] break in the new engine and just make sure all the processes are working as they should. 'And then you try and minimize the laps because every time you're out there, it's a risk and you don't obviously want to hurt the race car.' Better to hurt some Wienermobiles instead. How can I watch the Wienie 500? If you have made it this far, thanks for reading Mom. But joking aside, if you want to watch the Wienie 500 the race will be streamed live on Friday, May 23 at 2:00 p.m. ET on the FOX Sports app and across @INDYCARonFOX social accounts: Fans can also catch highlights from the race during Sunday's Indy 500 pre-race show on FOX.
Yahoo
24-05-2025
- Automotive
- Yahoo
Time to ketchup: Here's what happened during the inaugural Oscar Mayer Wienie 500
It's not everyday you get to see a 27-foot-long hot dog bus. But what about six? On Friday, the six Oscar Mayer Wienermobiles − yes, there are six − gathered at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway to participate in the inaugural Oscar Mayer Wienie 500. Two "Hotdoggers," the fresh college graduates who drive the Wienermobiles, sported Indy 500-style attire as they loaded up to race around the track. The Wienie 500 was held on Carb Day, the final practice day before Indianapolis 500 kicks off on Sunday, May 25. Miss the wienie race? Here's what to know about the inaugural Oscar Mayer Wienie 500. More Wienermobile: I rode 'shot-bun' in the iconic Oscar Mayer Wienermobile. Then we got pulled over. The inaugural Oscar Mayer Wienie 500 was held on Friday, May 23 at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in Indianapolis, Indiana. Slaw Dog took home first place. The 27-foot-long winning bus, which represented the "Saucy South," was driven by Grill Master Matthew Bailey of Madison, Georgia and Mustard Maddie Meyers of Kirkwood, Missouri. "I MUSTARD'mit, I will relish this moment forever," Mustard Maddie shared on her Instagram Story after the race. Fox Sports streamed the Oscar Mayer Wienie 500 on its social media sites. Over the course of a year, the Hotdoggers visit different regions of the country from inside the Wienermobile: East, Southeast, South, Midwest, Northwest and Southwest. During the Oscar Mayer Wienie 500, each of the Wienermobiles represented a regional hot dog. Here's how to grill them up: New York Dog (East): Kosher hot dogs topped with sauerkraut and homemade onion sauce, sat between a bun smothered in spicy brown mustard, as shared by Bobby Flay per Food Network Slaw Dog (Southeast): Hot dog topped with homemade chili, mustard and creamy coleslaw, per a recipe by Spicy Southern Kitchen Chili Dog (South): Hot dog topped with homemade chili and cheddar cheese, as outlined by Food Network Chi Dog (Midwest): All-beef frankfurter, like Vienna Beef, inside a poppy seed bun, topped with yellow mustard, pickle relish, chopped white onion, tomato slices, a dill pickle spear, pickled sport peppers and celery salt, as reported by New York Times Cooking Seattle Dog (Northwest): Hots dog topped with cream cheese, sauerkraut, brown mustard and sweet onions, per Allrecipes Sonoran Dog (Southwest): Hog dog wrapped in bacon and topped with pinto beans, onions, jalapeno salsa and tomatoes, as shared by Serious Eats The Oscar Mayer Wienermobile is Oscar Mayer's hot dog on wheels − a 27-foot-long hot dog-shaped bus used to advertise the brand. Today, six Wienermobiles travel throughout six different regions of the country. The Wienermobile made its first appearance in 1936 but it looked a bit different than it does today. A 13-foot-long metal hog dog on wheels was the first iteration of the Wienermobile. The vehicle featured an open cockpit, so the driver was seen sticking out of the top of the hot dog, according to Oscar Mayer. By 1940, a glass enclosure was added to better protect the driver. In 1952, after taking a hiatus during World War II, five 22-foot-long Wienermobiles began traveling throughout the country, per Oscar Mayer. They were the first to have a sound system and sunroof. The Wienermobile continued to adapt over the years and today's fleet has remained the same since about 2004, according to Oscar Mayer. The vehicle is made of custom fiberglass and contains a V-8, 6.0 liter engine. As for the interior, each Wienermobile features a hog dog-shaped dashboard, six mustard and ketchup seats, a 52-inch flat screen television, gull-wing doors with retractable steps, a removable roof, blue sky ceilings and a wiener jingle horn. To find a Wienermobile near you, visit the Oscar Mayer Wienermobile locator at You can also request the Wienermobile to visit near you on the Oscar Mayer website at Greta Cross is a national trending reporter at USA TODAY. Story idea? Email her at gcross@ This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Time to ketchup: What happened during inaugural Oscar Mayer Wienie 500
Yahoo
24-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Was Jim Cramer Right About Kraft Heinz Company (KHC)?
We recently published a list of . In this article, we are going to take a look at where KHC stands against other stocks that Jim Cramer discusses. Back in 2024, on May 17, a caller asked whether the potential sale of the Oscar Mayer brand would be good or bad for Kraft Heinz Company (NASDAQ:KHC) shareholders. Cramer dismissed its relevance, noting the brand's limited appeal and broader issues at Kraft: 'Okay, this is a great question because it's such a storied brand — but storied brands aren't going for a lot of money. Why? Because they're not considered to be fresh. They're just storied. I'm not saying they aren't fresh, but they're not considered to be by Wall Street. You're not going to find a lot of Oscar Mayer in Whole Foods. Therefore, I'm going to tell you — I think it's not that important. And Kraft Heinz, by the way, has a lot of products that I think are not that important — which is why I haven't recommended that stock in ages.' Kraft Heinz continued to lag, falling 23.09% and confirming Cramer's negative outlook on its relevance. A closeup of an assembly line worker inspecting a newly produced jar of condiments and sauces. The Kraft Heinz Company (NASDAQ:KHC) is failing to inspire a turnaround as legacy brands like Oscar Mayer lose relevance with modern consumers. Cramer remains unimpressed with the stock. Here's what he replied to a caller when asked if they should buy in April this year: 'Waste of your capital. Waste of your capital. There's so many great stocks that have come down. I mean, unbelievable stocks that have come down so much that I can't believe it. And I think you just gotta change, I mean, look, we're looking at, for instance, Texas Roadhouse, okay. This one's come down gigantically. It is now incredibly inexpensive, and it's got what I regard as being a fantastic value proposition. I'd much rather see you in that than I would see in Kraft Heinz.' Overall, KHC ranks 2nd on our list of stocks that Jim Cramer discusses. While we acknowledge the potential of KHC as an investment, our conviction lies in the belief that some AI stocks hold greater promise for delivering higher returns and have limited downside risk. If you are looking for an AI stock that is more promising than KHC and that has 100x upside potential, check out our report about this cheapest AI stock. READ NEXT: 20 Best AI Stocks To Buy Now and 30 Best Stocks to Buy Now According to Billionaires. Disclosure: None. This article is originally published at Insider Monkey.
