The Oscar Mayer Wienermobile in front of a Brook Road Walmart (Photo by Tyler Hammel)
Pulling up to a Brook Road Walmart parking lot Friday morning, it was hard to miss the Oscar Mayer Wienermobile, the large vehicle shaped like the perfect hot dog, complete with a golden bun and a bright red frankfurter.
Its young drivers — recent college graduates Connor Gray, a University of Texas alum, and Rosie Hutchinson of the University of Missouri — tell me they’re piloting one of six Wienermobiles touring the nation. The territory they’ve been assigned to travel over a six-month period has already taken them to Delaware, D.C. and even through the streets of Manhattan, all in the name of promoting Oscar Mayer hot dogs.
The Wienermobile has existed since 1936, but the current program that involves hiring recent college graduates to tour as “Hotdoggers” has only been around since 1988. In that time there have been more than 450 drivers and thousands of applicants. Both Gray and Hutchinson graduated from mass communications programs, though the only official requirement to be a driver is to have a bachelor’s degree.
“I’ve wanted to be a driver since seeing an interview with a couple drivers on the news,” says Gray. “It’s been like a dream, getting to travel the country bringing joy to people. Makes you feel kind of like a celebrity even though they’re excited to see the Wienermobile and not me.”
Oddly enough, most of the time the Wienermobile doesn’t serve hot dogs since they don’t have licenses to serve and prepare food from the vehicle. However, since they stop at different grocery stores in each area, hot dogs are sometimes prepared. Instead of always offering wieners, the Hotdoggers give out “wiener whistles” and have games for folks to play.
There’s something unexpected and a little amazing about seeing a hot dog-shaped vehicle drive around, but what has made what could easily be seen as a gimmick last for the better part of a century?
“From the get-go it’s been a way to make people happy, and it’s never lost its magic,” says Hutchinson. “We’ve been around for 81 years, and people are over the moon to see the Wienermobile. We don’t even have to do much, there’s just so much emotional attachment for people.”
And as if on cue, a clearly excited woman driving by slows, and rolls her window down to talk to us. “Oh my god, it’s the Wienermobile,” says the woman with a thick Boston accent. “I can’t believe you’re here! I haven’t seen one these since I was a little girl.”
The Wienermobile will be in Richmond through Sunday, stopping at Walmarts across the area. You can find their schedule on Twitter @wienermobile, or by downloading the Oscar Mayer app.
