Oscar Mayer says goodbye to the historic Weinermobile. Next up: the Frankmobile.
- This week Oscar Mayer renamed its Weinermobile. It's now called the Frankmobile.
- The rebrand marks a first in the vehicle's history since it initially debuted in 1936.
It's impossible not to recognize and the name rolls off the tongue — Oscar Mayer's hotdog-styled vehicle has been eliciting some kind of reaction by viewers ever since the original model first hit the road in 1936.
On Wednesday, the brand announced a change to its fabled Weinermobile. It'll now be called the Frankmobile to reflect — the company says — a new recipe for its 100% beef franks.
"This month, we are introducing a tasty new recipe with a more balanced flavor profile and iconic beefy taste that is more flavorful than ever," an Oscar Mayer spokesperson told Insider.
Aside from the name change, the fleet of six vehicles that tour around the country all year long will boast new exterior decals — they read "Please do not lick the all beef beef frank frankmobile" — to go along with a new "franks for frank," offering.
Anyone with a name that contains some iteration of "Frank" will be able to receive a coupon for a free pack of Oscar Mayer's beef franks. That is, if they can track down the Frankmobile in person. The brand provides a tracker for interested fans to keep up with the fleet of vehicles as they drive around the US.
Drivers, formerly known as Hotdoggers are now Frankfurters and instead of passing out Wiener Whistles, will give Frank Whistles, to the public.
The Frankmobile measures 27 feet long, 11 feet tall, and eight feet wide, and serves as a form of physical marketing for the Kraft Heinz owned meat producer.
When it first hit the public eye, the vehicle was meant to "bring joy to people," during the Great Depression. The original model was 13 feet long and was designed by the General Body Company of Chicago, Oscar Mayer says.
The last Weinermobile, ahead of a discontinuation in 1977, was mounted on a 1973 motorhome chassis manufactured by Chevy, Oscar Mayer says in a history of the vehicle.
In 1988. the mobile came back with a design overhaul: Six 23-foot long fiberglass vehicles were unveiled, featuring "microwave ovens, refrigerators, cellular phones, and stereo systems that played 21 versions of the Oscar Mayer Wiener Jingle." ("Oh, I wish I were an Oscar Mayer weiner ...")
Our current understanding of the Weinermobile stems from a 1995 concept by automotive designer Harry Bradley — the modern redesign was 27 feet long and 11 feet tall, the same specifications used today.
While the design remains similar to the 1995 changes, in 2004 the Weinermobile received some upgrades with regard to performance specifications, switching over to a Chevrolet chassis equipped with a 6-liter Vortec V8 with 300 horsepower.
In its current state, the Oscar Mayer initiative offers jobs to new college graduates to drive around the country and promote the brand.
"We go to a city for a week to two weeks, do birthday party drive-bys, farmer's market visits, and go to museums. We've driven on racetracks. And we do events and media interviews," Katie Ferguson, a former Hotdogger told Insider in 2021. "The only consistency is how much joy it brings people."